Keeper of the Dragon
by Sakura Shinguji-Albatou
Summary: A prequel for Tsubasa no Kami. Rated for language, violence, and nongraphic rape in chapter 15.
1. Chapter 1: Descent Call

**Keeper of the Dragon  
Chapter 1 – Descend Call**

Heated voices.

"The Armour belongs to the White Dragon Clan!"

Anger.

"By what right? Show me the proof! I will not allow you to take away that which belongs to me, that which should belong to me, as you always do!"

Defiance.

"_Should_ belong to you? The Keeper will never come from the Black Dragon Clan, I promise you _that!_"

Denial?

"The Oracle will tell it differently!"

_Hatred._

"Will he? How can _you_ know? Have you suddenly become a Delphi now? You can predict the future?"

"Oh, don't be a fool! I _will_ be Keeper, in time you'll see!"

Anger clamped down, coals raked over but still glowing orange. Coals ready to spring to life again at the slightest breath of wind, the slightest shred of tinder.

"We shall see."

* * *

At this time of the night the wind still blew peaceful and cool, and the slightest sounds echoed loudly. The fluorescent lights seemed to make everything pale. Moths fluttered in dozens around the lights, attracted by them, unable to use them, yet unwilling to leave. The concrete and asphalt, wet but without puddles from the slow rain, cast her distorted reflection balefully back up at the young woman who shuffled across the artificial ground.

No sooner had she slouched down into her seat on the train than she began yanking off jewelry and shoving it in her coat pocket. "I hate this," she muttered to herself, "I hate it." She crossed her legs and jerked her black dress over her knees, glaring hard at the floor. With a jerk and a hiss of pressurized air, the entire vehicle began to vibrate as the driver coerced the tired train into motion.

"Azumi, what is the matter with you?" Her mother sat to her left, her father next to her mother, leaving her free to rest her head against the cold glass of the window. It made her teeth rattle uncomfortably. She straightened. "When you walked up on that stage, you looked angry! Aren't you proud of yourself?"

"I guess." Azumi folded her arms and slouched, trying to bury herself as far back in her seat as possible.

"That didn't sound very convincing." Why that tone of voice? Did the woman think she was a psychic of some kind? How could she possibly believe she knew Azumi's feelings? Parents. She wished she didn't need them.

"Sorry." Azumi combed her fingers through brown hair down around her shoulders.

"Azumi, why aren't you proud of yourself?"

"Why should I be? They give them out every year," she muttered. "What's so special about an honor roll? We've been doing this stuff all my life."

"And there have been less and less people every time, haven't there? This is your last year; there were only a handful of you who made it!" Azumi shrugged in response and kicked a high-heeled foot at the seat in front of her.

Her mother sighed and shook her head. "Azumi, I swear! If you keep thinking like that, you'll never get anywhere in life!"

Azumi said nothing, only rolled dark brown eyes and pulled a tissue from her pocket; she spat upon it and began rubbing at the makeup on her face, streaking her skin red with the effort. "I hate this," she repeated.

"Leave it on, you look nice."

"I look like a clown."

"You're a very pretty young girl."

"Sure."

The train screeched to a halt at the stop. Azumi stalked out, followed closely by her parents. "What are we going to do with you, Azumi?" her mother sighed again.

"Just leave me alone!" _I just need some time away from you!_ She thought with irritation. _If I could just get away for a few hours—if you would just stop nagging me for a few minutes, that'd be enough!_

Azumi glanced away at a gust of dam wind, and all the noise in the busy street ceased. Azumi shook her head and rubbed at her ears to clear them. Why they would need clearing, she had no idea, but it seemed the most logical thing to do. Her efforts gave her no help. All right, so her ears were fine. There was nothing wrong with her.

Maybe the problem was with everyone else.

Azumi stopped walking as the people around her slowed in their movements until they hung in their poses, feet poised in the air to ascend a staircase or halfway through doors. She glanced at the watch on her wrist. The digital numbers, glowing softly green, displayed a jumble of lines that formed no coherent time. The cold air still moved, though, bringing with it a scent that had never before touched Azumi's nose, a smell that brought to mind an image of wide, open skies that spun clouds across their faces, and a bright and felicitous sun sending its rays skipping across snow cold and clean. That wind brought with it a singing voice, a voice so beautiful it made Azumi's heart ache with longing.

"Win dain…a lotica…"

As soon as it started it ceased, leaving Azumi standing with a distant expression on her face. "Someone is calling me," she whispered. She didn't know why she thought that. But that little display had been for her alone. Even if it had all been in her head, it had been for her. She knew it. "I heard them. They're inviting me. I want to go with them." That happy voice—she wanted to sing like that, without worrying. She wanted to feel the sun on her face, not the constant fog and rain that this season always brought.

"Azumi? What's wrong?" Her mother peered in her face, frowning. "Azumi!" She waved a hand in Azumi's face. "Azumi, are you listening to me?"

"Someone is calling me." Azumi blinked, the echoes of the voice still resounding in her head. Where was it? She wanted to meet the person with such a beautiful laugh. "I have to go! I have to find them! I want to go!" She spun on her heel and ran for the station's doors.

"Azumi!" shouted her father at her back.

"I have to go!"

Azumi shoved her way through the people as fast as she could, ducking down and squeezing through shoulders, slipping past gaps before they could close. _Someone is calling me. I have to go. Get somewhere alone, where no one will bother us. Someone is calling me._

Several blocks later, she slowed to a walk. She checked her watch again. 10:47, it read clearly. Now 10:48. But a bit of rainwater had gotten into it, fogging its face, and if she glanced at it sideways, it was easy to mistake the numbers for nonsense. _What am I doing? Why would somebody try to call me? What makes me so special? I imagined it, all of it. I must have._ She shoved her hands in her coat pockets. _What's wrong with me? I should be proud of myself, but I'm not. Whenever someone compliments me, I just get angry. I'm never happy with myself. I make my parents worry. I'm such a terrible person! Why can't I just appreciate what I've got?_

_I just imagined it. Geez, now I'm even convincing myself that I'm seeing things. I guess I'd better go home. They're going to kill me when I get back._ Why had she run off like that? It probably ranked top in the most idiotic things she had ever done. _Why did I think that someone was calling me? Even if all that really did happen, who would want to waste their time talking to me?_

Azumi sighed, turned, and started home. Night clenched the sun in its hand, the little light that slipped between its fingers coming from the streetlights. Her breath clouded in the air before her, and the wind swept it away. She could see her own reflection in the wet street. Her shoes clicked on the cold sidewalk. Rain still fell, tiny pinpricks, little more than a mist, but enough to keep her head bowed and her eyes narrowed. Or perhaps she did not bow her head for the rain. _I wish this wind would stop,_ she thought to herself. _I'm cold._

_No. I wish it would pick up. I wish a typhoon would come. I wish the wind would just blow me away. Somewhere far away. If something happened to me, would it even matter? Would anyone even care? I doubt it._

_I have to get out of here. I can't take this anymore. I have to get away._

She stopped, pulling her coat tighter around her. Tears stung her eyes. _Somebody, I—_

She forced herself to lift her gaze to the sky. She knew that the stars hung somewhere behind those clouds. If only she could reach them. "I heard you back there," she sad to the air. "Does that mean you're listening to me? Just give me a sign or something, so I know I'm not going crazy. Somebody hear me. Please, anybody," she whispered.

"Anybody?" questioned a voice. Azumi gasped and whirled around.

The streetlights hummed and blocked out everything beyond their reach with solid, black walls. At the end of the street she could make out a man-shaped figure—if not a man, then at least human-shaped. She had not heard the person come. No one besides herself and that person wandered the sidewalks. "Me?" Azumi asked, pointing at herself. What would he—or was it a she—want with her? But, she did not see anyone else around.

"Why would anyone take notice of you?" The voice sounded so close in her ear, as if the person stood right next to her. "Child, you begged for someone to hear you. How could I ignore such a plea?" The person began to move toward her, but she could hear no footsteps. He didn't disturb the puddles on the street. The wind that tugged at her dress did not touch the concealing, leaf-green cloak that swathed the body and hid the face in shadows. She could put no gender to the voice or the body, but something about the posture and tone of the speaker suggested a man to Azumi. "Why would anyone take notice of you?" he repeated. Now he stood less than an arm's reach away from her. He kept his head bowed, so that she could not see inside his cowl. "What makes you so special, so important, that anyone should care about you?"

How did he know her thoughts?

Azumi backed away. "What do you want?" she asked, her voice soft and wavering. She backed away, and he drew nearer. He laughed, a pleasant, ringing sound. Azumi would swear that she had heard it before.

"You're the one who stopped time back there."

"The time has come for a change on my world," he corrected. "We lack only a catalyst. Therefore, I have chosen you from the Mystic Moon to become the Wing Goddess. Therefore, I seek nothing other than you."

Azumi stopped. "The what? But, I'm not a—what do you mean by goddess? Am I dead?" she wondered. "Did I die? Did a car hit me when I ran away?"

He tilted his chin up, and two almond-shaped eyes glinted down at her from inside the cloak's shadows. "You are quite alive," he told her. "The Wing Goddess is a goddess, so to speak. She will descend and she will change our world."

Azumi pushed her blowing hair back behind her ear. This man frightened her, with all his talk of goddesses and moons—but at the same time, his voice was so kind. Gentle, but persistent. Which was he, then? Trustworthy? Deceiving? How could she tell? Was she actually going to believe a strange man in an alley ranting about goddesses and stars? She couldn't smell alcohol, but he had to be a drunk! "You've got the wrong person," she insisted.

"I do not have the wrong person," he corrected. "There is no wrong person. I choose the right person, and I choose you. I have chosen you from the Mystic Moon to become the Wing Goddess," the man repeated. "You must come to my world. To Gaea. We greatly need your aid."

"You're crazy," Azumi said bluntly. He had to be crazy. Either drunk or crazy. "Prove that you're not lying."

"Prove?" He laughed again. "Do you want to see magic, Wing Goddess? There is no such thing."

Azumi eyed him. What to do? No such thing as magic? Well, of course there was no such thing as magic, but then what was going on now? A hallucination?

He extended a graceful hand to her, palm up in an inviting gesture. "Fade away from this world. Descend to Gaea, Wing Goddess from the Mystic Moon, and make your destiny."

Azumi hesitated, and then reached out to take his hand. _What am I doing? He's going to kidnap me and rape me or something!_ Her arm passed right through him, like trying to catch smoke or grasp fog.

She looked up, and the dark clouds parted like a torn curtain. The stars flared bright in the sky, chasing off the darkness. "Is this a dream?" she whispered to herself. "Or a vision?" Her eyes darted desperately to the man. _I'm drugged. He's drugged me somehow. I'm hallucinating. I'm anemic and I fainted!_

"Perhaps we will meet in person one day. When the Dragons take you, you will likely see me again. Until then." He bowed his head and dissolved. His body left, but his voice remained, and Azumi could hear soft singing on the wind, in a language unknown to her.

"Win dain…a lotica…"

Azumi looked back to the sky, where the stars shone with a cold, white light as bright as the sun. "No, this is real. Someone heard me," she said softly. "Someone heard me. My wish will come true."

"En vai tu ri…si lota…"

The streetlights exploded, raining down stinging shards of glass with the crackle of electricity. The stars flared even brighter, forcing her gaze down.

"Win dain…a loluca…"

The wind picked up in intensity, howling around her, throwing her hair in her face. Azumi's eyes widened.

I can't breathe!

The light from the sky continued to grow, and Azumi ducked her head and shielded her face with her arms. She could hear the blood roaring in her ears.

"En dragu a…se lain…"

The torn clouds reached down from the sky with misty fingers and curled around her. Enveloped in the light, Azumi rose from the ground gripped in cloud-hands, and all her senses gave way to darkness.

* * *

The man folded his hands. "I have called her," he announced.

"_Her?_ You chose a female?" the other asked, surprise in his voice.

"Yes."

"The Wing Goddess has come?"

"Yes."

"Good."

The man pushed back the hood and pulled off the concealing cloak. Silvery-white hair swept back behind pointed ears and fell in waves down his back. The light sparkled in calm, clear blue eyes. He folded the light cloak neatly and draped it over his arm. "I do believe I frightened her," he sighed. "Though it probably wouldn't have been any easier if she had seen my face." He glided across the leaf-colored, marble floor carved with the images of flowering vines, fingering the green, folding fan held in the green sash around his waist. "Remember, now, that I cannot tell you where she alighted. You'll have to find her for yourself."

"I know. I'll find her. I'll find her if I have to tear apart half of Gaia," the other assured.

The man held up a restraining hand. "Don't let yourself get carried away. Would you truly sacrifice half of Gaia for the Wing Goddess? Truly? You're far too reckless."

"I didn't mean it literally. Don't start lecturing me!"

"You should show more respect when you speak to a Keeper," the man warned. "You'll find that they're not all as mild as me."

"Hmph!" The other folded his arms and tossed back black bangs, through they fell right back into sun-bronzed skin and brown eyes. "I'll be on your level soon enough."

"What did the Oracle tell you?"

"That the time is right for us to choose a Keeper of the Dragon. You know that already."

"Aside from that."

"Only what I already knew; that the Wing Goddess will choose the next Keeper of the Dragon—that his arrival will change all of Gaea."

"Her arrival," the man corrected.

"Her, her!" the other cried in exasperation, "I expected a man! I just have to get to her before Brisingamen does."

"Even if you do, you still may not be chosen."

"Really?" The other looked amused. "Leave that part to me. Can you tell me anything about where she alighted?"

The man shook his head. "I do not know where she landed. The Erinyes guard the Call. I brought her here; I can do no more than that."

"All right, then." The other reached back to touch the sword-hilt that jutted over his shoulder. "But I don't expect to fail."

* * *

Even when her feet touched the ground once again, the wind swirling around Azumi did not lessen. Instead, snow joined it, pouring from the sky, clinging to her hair and clothes. _What's all this? I'm not dressed for snow!_ She shivered, hugging herself as she walked. She could not see anything besides the whirling white. _That's not any reason to give up,_ she reminded herself. _Oh, who am I kidding? I can see about as far as I can spit! There's no way I can get out of this one!_ She sank to her knees in the snow. _I guess I got what I wished for._ Her hands and feet had gone so cold they ached. So quickly!

She closed her eyes. _I wonder how long it'll take?_

The snow began to build up around her. She slumped to her side in the white drifts. She hardly noticed as, slowly, it buried her.

Voices. "Stop!" one commanded, "I see something ahead of us!"

"What is it?"

"I don't know."

Someone brushed the snow from atop her and rolled her onto her back.

"It's a woman!"

A high, female voice joined the first two male. "Strange clothes," she observed.

"We can't just leave her here," the second voice interjected.

"She's dead, or dying," the first observed. A warm hand closed around her wrist.

"Not yet," the second announced. The third broke in again.

"She's wearin' strange clothes."

"I heard you," the first answered. "Where do you think she came from?"

"I got no idea," the third replied, "but _I'm_ not gonna be th' one carryin' her. You do it, Riyad."

Azumi, numb, tried to open her eyes, but they seemed frozen shut. "Help me," she murmured. At least, she thought she did. She did not know if she could trust her ears.

"She said somethin'!"

Arms lifted her from the snow. Something soft and warm settled over her.

"Why didn't she just go ta th' guild-home? It's right down th' road. We're not that scary!"

"I didn't think we were scary at all," the second said to himself.

"She's obviously a stranger," the first voice said.

"She's strange, all right," the female voice agreed.

"Journeyman!" The second voice took on a pleading tone. "That's mean!"

"Oh, come on!" the female argued, "she can't hear me!"

"Open the door," the first voice ordered.

Warmth and light flooded over Azumi. She faintly felt herself laid down upon something soft.

"Look at her, she's gone white."

"Her clothes are soaked."

"All right, I'll take it from here," the female voice spoke up. "Riyad, go find her somethin' dry ta wear. Leland—well, I guess I can't really order ya around, can I? But go away anyway, unless ya wanna watch me get these wet clothes off of her."

"Sapir-"

"I didn't think so!" A door slammed. "Don't worry, Lil' Missy," the third voice told her, "we'll take care o' ya."

Sleep.


	2. Chapter 2: The Laurel's Divination

**Keeper of the Dragon  
Chapter 2 - The Laurel's Divination**

_Did I die?_ Azumi wondered for the second time in a day. She feared to open her eyes. She feared what she might see. _I don't feel dead._ She took the risk and opened her eyes. Not that keeping them closed would benefit her at all.

Her rescuers had put her in a plain room with walls and floor of wood. Several simple tapestries hung over them for warmth. The popping of a fire and the smell of burning wood somehow made it feel welcoming. She had never felt a bed so soft, and the homely feel of the colorful quilt pulled up to her chin warmed her more than the brightest fire could at the moment.

"How did I survive _that?_" Azumi wondered to herself.

"A warm fire and a strong spirit," answered a vaguely familiar voice, the first speaker she had heard in the snow.

Azumi started. The man in the chair next to her smiled. She had not noticed him before. Had he just come in? No, by his relaxed and comfortable posture, he had sat there watching her for more than just a few moments.

_He has such strange clothes._ Really, his clothes did not look so strange, but for the laces of his white tunic tied in a neat knot at his neck—_tunic?_ Not everyday clothing on the Earth—not in this century, anyway. A wrist-thick, golden braid hung over his shoulder; probably past his waist should he stand. She found it odd, even considering some of the wild hairstyles she had seen on the rebellious of her age. The warm light in the room reflected from eyes a most unusual and beautiful shade of blue, but it made them impossible to read. What a mysterious man! He had a pleasant air about him, though, and his smile proved disarming.

_All right, so maybe I didn't die._

"Where-?" Azumi paused. _I have so many questions. Which one do I ask first? Maybe I should wish that I had died._

The man folded his arms, taking her hesitation in stride. "Welcome to the guild-home of the Abaharaki," he told her, answering her question before she could make herself feel foolish by asking it.

"Abaharaki?" Azumi frowned, stumbling over the word. "I don't understand."

"You've never heard of us before?" The man appeared slightly shocked, a bit confused. "Most at least recognize the name." He leaned forward. "Please tell me your name, Miss."

"K-Kuronari Azumi," Azumi stuttered.

"Azumi?" He gripped the braid hanging over his shoulder unconsciously. Goodness, she had never seen a man with a braid like that. "I've never heard a name like that before. Where did you come from?" Azumi eyed him with suspicion. "Don't worry, you can tell me. We won't harm you. If you live nearby, we can take you home."

Azumi paused a moment, then gave him the name of her city. The man frowned.

"I've never heard of that place. Miss, do you feel all right?" he asked.

"I've lived there all my life." Azumi sat up slowly, thankful to find herself fully clothed, though she wondered for a moment how they had dried her dress. "I'm sorry, but, who are you? Where on Earth am I?"

"Scherazade, could it be-?" He leaned forward farther, studying her hard for a moment. Azumi shrank away. "It must be." He nodded slowly. "I believe I might understand the problem now. You aren't in 'Earth.' Miss Azumi Kuronari, my name is Leland Blackhawk, and I am the Guild Master of the Abaharaki. You are on Gaea, in the lands that lie between the Gray Griffin Clan and the Red Demon Clan."

"Gaea?" Azumi twisted the quilt in her hands. _That's what the man in the green cloak said,_ she thought. Leland chuckled.

"All right, Leland, what're ya doin' ta her?" The sound of ringing bells grew louder and louder, and the owner of the female voice from the previous night poked her head in the room. Azumi screamed. "What's th' shoutin' an' th' faces for?" Sapir demanded, planting her hands on her hips. "Ya never saw a cat-person before?"

"No!" Azumi cried. Oh, God, this Sapir was blue! Short, straight, navy hair fell across lighter eyes but didn't hide distinctively catlike ears. Her skin was a pale cerulean, with darker stripes on her arms and legs; even her clothes were blue. Silver bells hung from blue bands around her wrists and ankles. She looked small, probably even shorter than Azumi. And she had a tail. A tail!

"What're ya starin' at? Lemme guess—ya never saw an animal-person before, right? Or ya thought that cats shouldn't be blue? Humans! Ya all think alike!" Sapir huffed with a toss of her head. "Well, there's nothin' wrong with me, so stop starin'!"

Leland glanced back over his shoulder. "Sapir, bring Riyad, please."

"Leland!" she protested. "I ain't your messenger girl!"

"You are right now," Leland laughed. "And that's 'Guild Master' to you. I said please, didn't I? Go on, Kitty."

Sapir meowed and stalked out of the room, fists clenched, bare feet pounding on the wooden floor, tail lashing behind her, the jangling of her bells and her sheer lack of height subtracting away any menace she might otherwise have managed to radiate. "I'll go Kitty you, 'Guild Master'. Try ta send me off like th' royal message boy!"

"She-she's a cat!" Azumi stared at the door, wide-eyed.

"Do you have a problem with that?" Leland studied her with glittering eyes. Azumi shook her head.

"No, I don't have a _problem_ with it," she told him. "I've just never seen anyone like her before."

"You don't have animal-people where you come from?"

"No, just humans." Azumi kept her eyes on the door. "Does she always snap at everyone like that?"

"Thank the gods, no," Leland laughed. "One of the Apprentices dropped a candle and caught her hair on fire just last night; she used to have it long. And he singed her tail. It's put her in a bad mood all day. She'll get over it soon enough."

The door banged open and a bristling Sapir returned, dragging by the collar of his tunic a sweet-faced young man with raven, page-boy hair and blue eyes. He looked no older than Azumi. "Journeyman! Please let me go!" the boy begged. "You're hurting me!" A smile turned up the corners of Azumi's mouth. The boy stood a good two heads taller than Sapir, but clearly she had him terrified.

"After last night's candle ya got no right ta complain! If anything ya deserve it!"

"I tripped, I swear!" the boy protested.

"I've heard it already! You're gonna be one of th' Abaharaki, you're supposed ta have more coordination than that!" Sapir gave the boy a shove toward Leland. "Here ya go, 'Guild Master.' Anything else ya want me ta fetch? Your whetstone? A squirrel, maybe?"

"A little less sarcasm," Leland suggested. "And a bit of forgiveness?"

"Hmph!"

The frantic rate at which Riyad adjusted his clothes did little to help the mess Sapir had put him in; he gave up his attempts to tuck in his tunic, and stood before Leland as he was. "I would have come on my own, Guild Master."

Sapir flashed a grin. "I've gotta get my revenge somehow, an' my fun too."

Leland stood and took Riyad by the arm, drew him aside, speaking in a low voice. "Our guest seems a bit edgy around the other Clans, Riyad. Explain what you are beforehand. She's very confused. I want to know what she is and where she's from."

"Yes, Guild Master." Riyad moved aside Leland's wooden chair, replacing it with a three-legged stool. "It's good to see you awake, Miss," he said pleasantly. "What's your name?"

"Azumi Kuronari," she answered.

"Azumi. That's a nice name." He nodded. "I'm Riyad Heatherwilde. Don't be afraid. I'm going to help you. We just need to know a few things about you."

Azumi eyed him. "Why should I be afraid?"

Riyad laughed, an innocent and disarming sound. "Most people get a little skittish around us at first. They think that we Delphi can read their minds. Well, I guess we can, but it's hard and it's not polite, and it's obvious when we're doing it, so we don't."

"Delphi?" Azumi wondered.

Riyad reached up and pushed his bangs away from his forehead. Azumi could see—a birthmark? A tattoo? On his skin, a pink dot with a sinuous line extending down from it ended between his eyes. A line arched over it, rays pointing outward from the line forming a second arch. "We come from the Blue Siren Clan, if it helps."

Azumi stared at him helplessly. "What are you people?"

Riyad looked to Leland, who had taken up a position leaning against the wall, his arms folded. Leland nodded. "Go on, you can tell her. It's no secret. Anyone else would already know"

"Yes, Guild Master." Riyad looked back to Azumi. "We are the Abaharaki, the fighters' guild," he answered. Fighters' guild? She had never known that someone could make a guild of fighters! "Don't worry; we'll keep you safe here. We'll find where you belong." He untied a small pouch at his belt and withdrew a dried leaf.

"What's that?" Azumi asked suspiciously.

"It's just a laurel leaf," he told her. "It's for me, not for you. You don't want me to faint off the stool, do you?" Riyad popped the leaf into his mouth and chewed for a moment. Leland straightened with expectation, prompting Azumi to wonder. Just what would eating a laurel leaf accomplish?

Riyad's eyes widened. He tilted back slightly, his neck craned so that he stared at the ceiling, the markings on his forehead glowing with a red light.

"I can see it," he gasped. "The Wing Goddess descended from the Mystic Moon will awaken the Dragon. The land and the sea and the moon will die, but the sun and the sky will live on. Gaea will be reborn. I can see it." He swayed on the stool.

"Someone catch him!" Azumi yelped, clutching at her quilt. Riyad straightened, shaking his head and blinking.

"No, I'm all right." Riyad told her, and looked back to Leland. "What did I say, Guild Master?"

"I can see it," Leland repeated back, clearly accustomed to this. "The Wing Goddess descended from the Mystic Moon will awaken the Dragon. The land and the sea and the moon will die, but the sun and the sky will live on. Gaea will be reborn. I can see it. Good job, Riyad. It could have come from the Oracle himself."

"Oh, I'm not as good as him," Riyad argued, shyly proud of himself.

"What did all that mean?" Azumi interrupted. Sapir tossed her head.

"It sounds ta me like she's the Dragons' Wing Goddess. 'Course, they're so secret about it that I dunno much."

That again? Azumi held up her hands as though to ward the others away. "I'm pretty sure it's a mistake-"

"Riyad's never wrong, at least not when he's divinin'!" Sapir interrupted, jabbing a finger at Azumi. "If he says that you're th' Wing Goddess, you're th' Wing Goddess! End o' discussion! But don't think that this gets ya off th' hook for burnin' my hair, Riyad!"

"Journeyman!" Riyad moaned, covering his face with his arms to shield himself.

"Wait a minute!" Azumi argued.

"Miss Azumi, would you come here, please?" Leland beckoned for her to stand next to him and drew the homespun curtains back from the large window. Azumi pushed away the quilt and went to him. Cold radiated from the window, a cold that the fireplace kept from permeating the rest of the room. Leland rubbed a spot on the glass free of frost with the cuff of his sleeve and pointed up at the clear night sky. "Do you see that blue moon, Miss Azumi?" he asked. Azumi followed his finger. She gasped. That was no moon! That was the Earth! "Y-Yes," she stammered.

"I believe the Dragons say that the Wing Goddess will come to them from the Mystic Moon." "That's not a moon." Azumi wanted to press her hands against the window. "That's the Earth. That's my home." Or was it just a moon, circling a greater planet? How could she know? "Oh, I think I'm going to faint!"

"Guild Master, do you think that maybe we should leave her alone for a bit and let her rest?" Riyad asked timidly.

"Don't go!" Azumi blurted out. Leland tilted his head to the side, glancing down at her. "I-I don't want to be alone in this strange place," she finished.

"Weak," Sapir muttered. "I've got things ta do. I'll see ya later." The cat-girl left, banging the door shut behind her.

"What is the Wing Goddess?" Azumi asked. Leland pulled the curtain shut and took his chair again, and lifted his shoulders in a shrug. Azumi climbed back into the bed and pulled the quilt around her shoulders. Her dress did not suit this kind of weather at all; even that short stand at the window had chilled her!

"I don't know," Leland answered.

"You don't know?" Azumi squeaked.

"I've only heard of him," Leland told her. "Her or him, the Dragons don't know. Her, I suppose, now that you're here. She is a matter of the Dragons alone. Something about a goddess who is not quite a goddess coming from the stars, something to do with their Armour. The other Clans have no business with her."

"I'm sorry." Azumi looked down at her hands in her lap. "I don't understand."

"Neither do I. The Abaharaki only have a few Dragons, and they are all off in their own lands at the moment." Leland sighed, gripping his braid again, and stood. "Riyad, please explain what you believe Miss Azumi will need to know. Answer her questions. And find her some proper clothes. I'll decide what to do with her. Know that you are a welcome guest, Miss Azumi. We'll take care of you."

The door clicked shut softly behind him.

"Well?" Riyad abandoned the stool for the more comfortable chair. "Any questions? Or do you want me to just start talking?"

"Ah—" Azumi's head spun like a feather in a whirlwind. Clans? Armours? Wing Goddess? Where to even start? Which one to ask first? "Will you tell me about these Clans that everyone keeps mentioning?" That seemed like a good place to begin.

"Of course!" Riyad nodded. "Gaia is divided into six Clans: The Blue Siren Clan, the Gray Griffin Clan, the Green Erinyes Clan, the Red Demon Clan, and the White and Black Dragon Clans."

"Why are there two Dragon Clans?" Surely there were enough mythological creatures to go around! Faeries, Wyvern, Kirin, Spriggans, Kappa—Riyad had not mentioned any of those.

"It's always been that way. The first royal family had two sons. They went to the Oracle to decide which one would take the throne. The brother who did not have the signs on his side became angry, broke away from the White Dragon Clan, and formed the Black Dragon Clan. History always repeats itself, with one brother taking the White Dragon Throne, the other the Black Dragon Throne. Not that any of the Clans actually have a throne; it's figurative. Believe it or not, they usually manage to keep the peace, but not lately. The other Clans have a Keeper to rule them always, but since there's two Dragon Clans, there has only ever been one Keeper of the Dragon, Chosen just before they split. After he died, they never Chose another; they have a completely different way of Choosing anyway. Now they've decided that it's time to find another, and of course both brothers want it.

"Forgive me; I shouldn't have gone off into our political problems." Noting Azumi's confused look, Riyad continued to speak. "Yes, I said Keeper. Each Clan has a guardian god of sorts to protect it. Well, they're gods, but not quite. An Armour. The full title is the Keeper of the Dragon. Oh, what do they call the Dragon Armour? They all hasve names." Riyad thought a moment. "Escaflowne."


	3. Chapter 3: Come See

**Keeper of the Dragon  
Chapter 3 - Come See**

The Shrine of the Dragon made a truly marvelous sight among the simple huts of the White Dragon Clan, and none would deny it. The Dragons had built it during the high point of their Tribe, before the reign of the first and only Keeper of the Dragon, when the Dragons had the time and resources to settle down and did not need their current nomadic lifestyle, always in pursuit of food and in flight from the greater Black Dragon Clan. They had removed the white marble for the Shrine from the mountains with the utmost of care, carried here, and erected it, all without damaging a single smooth dragon bone inlaid inside the stone. Nobody could remember how they had done it anymore. The Dragon Armour, the god Escaflowne, remained here between Keepers, and centuries had gone by since it last passed through the doors.

A shaft of sunlight, the only source of illumination in the room, fell directed through the skylight upon the altar that held a necklace, a relatively simple piece of jewelry. For all the centuries it had hung there, it never needed dusting. A stone of a bright, clean red, hung from a fine black cord. It seemed to draw in all the light in the room, and it drew all eyes to it.

That stone worried Anil. He had seen the Token of the Erinyes, the green fan. And he had heard that the Token of the Siren was blue, the Token of the Griffin gray. What explanation did he have for the color of the stone before him? The Token of the Dragon should be white, not this strange, rust color! The Demons, those arrogant, miserable half-breeds, _they_ bore red! The Token of the Dragon should be white!

And it belonged to him, by all rights! The Black Dragon Clan had broken off from the White Dragon Clan, a perverted inverse of what the gods had created in the beginning. The White Dragons had come first, and the first and only Keeper of the Dragon had come from the White Dragon Clan!

Standing in the Shrine of the Dragon, Anil could not tear his gaze away from the pendant. None could honestly remember what the Dragon Armour even looked like. They knew that it would tower above them, higher than the tallest trees, as all the other Armours did. It could take the form of a dragon, the Dragon that they took their name from. But, was it a knight with white armour like the bright clouds they walked through, with a cloak like the blue of the soft night sky, with glittering, green eyes like the grass of the land that loved them, as in the stories his mother had told him? Or was its armour black like the storm clouds the Black Dragons rejoiced in, with glowing, orange eyes like the fires they sent to chase the White Dragons down, with a tattered cloak red like blood, as the Black Dragon Clan believed?

At his side, he clenched his hand into a fist. "I will be the Keeper of the Dragon." It was his birthright. The Oracle had told him that the Wing Goddess would choose the next Keeper. His Clan's lore told him that the Wing Goddess would choose the next Keeper. He had called her, now he only had to find her.

Anil knelt and bowed, brow furrowed, pressing his forehead to the smooth, cold floor. "Escaflowne, give me the strength to crush my enemies," he prayed.

* * *

Azumi thought that the Abaharaki guild-home a surprisingly cheerful place for a group of professional warriors, a simple but large structure of wood, with large windows and open rooms, and a warm fire in every one. Leland had never understood why others expected them to skulk in the dark. A guild of fighters did not equate to a guild of assassins and murderers, he had explained to Azumi. The bulk of the Abaharaki's work came in the form of bodyguard duty and the like, or sometimes in giving special training to soldiers. Only rarely would an Abaharaki receive permission to accept an assassination, only in specific, desperate, and important circumstances. It had happened before, but very, very rarely.

"I believe it. That young lady must be the Dragons' Wing Goddess." Leland spoke low as they walked so that only Sapir could hear him, though words did not echo far in the Abaharaki guild-home, and the Abaharaki were mostly free of prying ears.

"What d'ya think we should do with her?" Sapir's bare feet made little noise on the floor, but the soft chiming of the bells she wore compensated for her mostly stealthy manner of movement.

"The Dragons will want her," Leland continued. "And we'll give her to them. After all, she means nothing to us."

"But, which Dragons?" Sapir glanced up at Leland; he stood more than a head taller than she. "Th' White, or th' Black?"

Leland frowned, and relaxed his grip on his braid before flicking it back over his shoulder. "I don't know," he admitted.

"Maybe we should ask Fenjilor," Sapir suggested. "He'd know!"

Leland shook his head. "He's a White Dragon. He would tell us to give her over to his Tribe. How could he not, without betraying his people? Besides, he's away with his family right now, remember? He won't come back until the snows melt."

"Karlin?"

"Same problem, but for the other side, and he's left to fetch his new Apprentice from Lord Vohon, anyway." Leland sighed. "The Abaharaki aren't a Clan, and we can't choose sides in their Keeper conflict. We'll fall apart if we try. We can't even be entirely sure that she is the Angel Grey until we hear the words from the Oracle's mouth."

"Yeah, I guess th' Dragons'd get pretty mad if we sent 'em a fake goddess."

Leland stopped walking. "I want you to send word to the rest of the guild. If the Wing Goddess really has descended from the Mystic Moon, one of the Dragon Clans has something to do with it. Whether she belongs to the White or the Black, Miss Azumi Kuronari has come first to the Abaharaki, and we will do with her what we see fit. While she stays with us, we have to protect her and prepare for a conflict. I've no doubt that she'll prove to be a catalyst. The two Dragons have eyed each other for centuries, just waiting for an excuse to fight."

"If she's a goddess, shouldn't she be th' one protectin' us?" Sapir dropped to all fours with a meow and batted at the end of Leland's braid playfully; he swept it back over his shoulder.

"If she could, she probably wouldn't have gotten herself nearly frozen to death last night."

"Ya got a point."

"That's why _I'm_ the Master and you're the Journeyman."

"Ya gotta die someday," Sapir joked, brandishing a clawed hand.

"Not anytime soon. Well, hop to it, Kitty! The sun doesn't stop rising just because we have a guest, even if she is the Wing Goddess."

* * *

"So, what Tribe do the cat-people belong to?" Behind the folding screen, Azumi held up the clothes that Riyad had given her, borrowed from one of the female Abaharaki her size. "You didn't mention a Whatever-Color Cat-People Clan."

"They don't." Riyad's voice drifted to her ears from the other side of the room. "They don't have one. They're the Clanless. They don't have an Armour to protect them."

"Oh." _I guess these clothes aren't so strange,_ Azumi decided. _Sort of like a kimono, but shorter? And what's this skirt? Do I wear it over or under the dress? Well, here goes nothing. Guess it's not so much like home after all. I can't believe I'm getting confused just getting dressed! I can't exactly ask for help, either!_

"I don't like that term, though," Riyad continued. "If you ask one of the animal people, they'll tell you that they used to have an Armour, but that the other Clans destroyed it in a war when the first Keeper of the Dragon was Chosen. I imagine that one of the Dragons would know if that was true or not, but I've never asked." Azumi imagined a shrug from the Delphi. "The Guild Master never even mentions his Clan around Journeyman Sapir if he can avoid it. It's a touchy subject."

"Oh." _Is that all that I can say today? Oh?_ "I imagine so." Azumi stepped out from behind the screen, adjusting her clothes. "Did I do this right? I've never seen clothes like this before."

Riyad turned around to face her. "Almost. The bow goes in the front." He crooked a finger, and the wide sash around Azumi's waist twisted itself around. Azumi squeaked in surprise. "Forgive me, Miss Azumi, I forgot! I guess you don't have psychics where you're from, do you?"

"No," she answered. "Not real ones, anyway."

Azumi walked to the window. A distance from the guild-home, other buildings and homes sprawled across the Gaean countryside. They all kept a good amount of space between themselves and the guild-home, somewhat isolating the Abaharaki. Smoke rose up from cozy chimneys, wafting away on the wind. How many of those houses held families? Did the Abaharaki protect them, like a sort of feudal lord, or did they make a more ominous presence? Beyond those irregularly-spaced buildings, the ground stretched to meet the sky, concealed behind the white crystals of winter.

"Do you like our world, Miss Azumi?" Riyad asked.

"I don't know. I've barely seen any of it."

Riyad chewed on his lip, thinking. "Would you like to, then? I've got something I have to do outside anyway."

"Are you sure?" Azumi looked back over her shoulder at him. "I don't want to be any trouble."

"Don't worry about it!" Riyad assured her.

Azumi followed the Delphi as he led her through the halls of the guild-home. He stopped to talk quietly with those he passed, seemingly about her, because they always glanced at her and nodded before continuing on their way. Something else, too, struck her as odd about his behavior. He spoke as a child to an adult, not like an equal to everyone else, and it puzzled her. She thought that Leland had mentioned something about Riyad's standing in the Guild before, but now, she just could not recall it.

At a pair of large, plain, wooden doors, Riyad handed her a heavy, navy-coloured cloak, probably borrowed from Sapir. Azumi draped it around her shoulders and tied the strings tight; Riyad fastened his own cloak and pushed open the door.

Azumi ducked her head, nearly blinded by the light off the snow. She stayed a moment, letting her eyes adjust.

"Follow me." Riyad gestured over his shoulder. Azumi shivered as the snow touched her dress, melted, and soaked in.

_What I wouldn't give for a pair of boots like his,_ she thought to herself. These shoes did not keep her feet warm at all. She picked her way carefully through the clear path that Riyad left behind him. "Shouldn't we take the road?" Azumi asked.

"Nah, the road leads down to the city," Riyad told her. "There's nothing worth seeing over there, at least not at this time of the year. During the Festival of Bells, well, that's a different story. But that's a Griffin Clan matter. I never go."

"Why not?"

"It's a celebration of their god. A Delphi shouldn't interfere." Riyad kicked at the snow and stooped down to pick up the rock he had uncovered, a flat stone about the size of his two fists together. "The Clans don't mix holidays. They usually don't mix anything; the Abaharaki are pretty unusual because we've got everything except a Demon."

Azumi pulled her cloak tighter. "Does this—ah—god of the Griffins have a name?"

"Oh, yes." Riyad nodded. "All the Armours have names. Give me a moment. Sh- sh something. It's sort of a complicated name, starts with a 'sh' sound." He hummed to himself, thinking. "Scherazade."

"Scherazade." These strange names! Escaflowne and Scherazade!

They continued walking, Riyad with the stone tucked under his arm.

"The Clans don't get along?" Azumi asked.

"I didn't say that," Riyad replied. "The Dragons fight each other, and the Demons pretty much fight everybody, including themselves, but the humans usually keep to humans, the Erinyes to Erinyes, the Delphi to Delphi, you know. It's always been like that."

"You and Mr. Leland and Ms. Sapir seem to get along well enough," Azumi noted.

Riyad laughed. "Of course!"

_I don't get these people at all,_ Azumi thought. _This is such a strange place. Now Demons and Griffins and Keepers? What the heck is an Erinyes, anyway?_

"We're here." Riyad stepped aside to let Azumi stand in front of him. "This is called the Pool of the Nereids."

_It looks just like an ordinary, frozen pond._ A pond with banks that formed a perfect circle, but a pond nevertheless. She could probably throw a stone all the way across it.

"It's not much in winter, I know," Riyad admitted. "But everyone on Gaea knows about this place. Toss a stone in, and you can see the future. Nobody comes much this time of year. It's too dangerous to get within an arm's reach of the water, but if you're daring enough to try, it has wonderful curative abilities. Only the most courageous ever attempt it." Riyad hefted the rock and stepped out onto the ice.

"What are you doing?" Azumi yelped, "you just told me that it was dangerous!"

"You want to know if you're the Wing Goddess, don't you?" Riyad asked, smiling. "If a Delphi looks into the water, it's almost as good as the Oracle himself. Maybe we can save the Guild Master a trip. Wait there, I won't take long."

Riyad walked carefully out across the ice, almost to the center, and tossed the rock. It broke through the ice with a crash, and Riyad dropped to his knees, sliding a dagger out of his boot and gripping it in a fist. He frowned, studying the ripples in the water, leaning forward on his elbows. A slender, delicate hand shot out of the water and grabbed a handful of Riyad's hair. He yelped and swiped at it with the dagger, and scrambled back from the hole when it released him. The hand disappeared back down into the water.

Azumi stared, slack-jawed. "Ah—what—was—?"

Riyad's face held a serious expression as he dunked the blade into the water to clean it and slid it back into his boot. "Many foolish people have drowned here. That is why the Abaharaki guard the Pool. None come it near without one of us." He stood and dusted snow off himself, and joined Azumi back on solid ground.

"What did you see?" Azumi asked him.

Riyad sighed. "You bring changes with you, Miss Azumi," he told her. "One way or another, you'll end up affecting every Clan."

"So, does that mean I'm really the Wing Goddess?"

Riyad shrugged. "I didn't see that you were. There are other ways of affecting people." Azumi dropped her gaze. "I didn't see that you weren't either. It didn't say anything about that at all. I'm no Oracle, and it is easier to divine for yourself than for someone else. Don't give up yet." He patted her shoulder comfortingly.

Azumi eyed the hole in the ice. _Easier to divine for yourself than for someone else?_ She pulled away from Riyad and took a step onto the ice.

"Miss Azumi!" A strong, invisible hand jerked her backwards. "Didn't you hear what I told you? You can't go near the water! The mermaids could kill you!"

Azumi shrugged. "Not much of a loss."

Riyad looked back to the Pool. "The Keeper of the Demon got pulled into the Pool ten or fifteen years ago. He never came out, and he really knew how to fight, too. They never even found his body, and dead Demons float on top of water. They found the Demons that came in after him, but they could only identify the bodies because they knew who went in. They never found the Keeper. We can't lose the Wing Goddess like that."

Azumi nodded. _He disappeared?_ she wondered. Perhaps Riyad meant to scare her away, but that knowledge only made the Pool beckon to her even more.


	4. Chapter 4: Foolish Plunge

**Keeper of the Dragon  
Chapter 4 - Foolish Plunge**

The man folded his hands calmly. "I apologize, Brisingamen, but I cannot help you."

The man he faced narrowed golden eyes. "And why would that be?"

"The Wing Goddess has already come," the man replied.

"She has?" Brisingamen's face darkened. "Who asked you to summon her?" As soon as he spoke the question he held up a hand to prevent its answer. "Don't bother. I already know who he is. Who else would have any use for her?"

"Your brother," the man answered quietly. Brisingamen glared gilded arrows at him.

"Where did she descend to?"

"I could not reveal that to your brother, and I cannot tell you, either. You know that once she has lighted on Gaea, I lose sight of her until a Dragon finds her." A warning tone entered his voice as the man fingered the emerald fan he carried in his sash. "Do not entertain the notion that you can threaten a Keeper, Brisingamen, I'll have none of it," the man warned. Brisingamen relaxed not a bit; he could make children cry in his sleep.

"Who gave you the authority to call her down?" Brisingamen demanded instead.

The man drew himself up. "The _authority_ to summon the Wing Goddess is given to me by Teiring, you know that. I may use it as my conscience bids. I need no more _authority_ than that." The man held up the fan, snapped it open. "But your brother _did_ visit the Oracle. The Oracle does not lie. The Oracle prophesied that I should call down the Wing Goddess. Take your complaints to the Oracle." The man closed the fan and pointed to the doorway with it. "If you have finished?"

"The Oracle. Yes." A slow smile crept across Brisingamen's face. "I believe I _will_ have a talk with him."

Brisingamen swept from the room, a malicious ray of shining sunlight.

Worry knitted the man's eyebrows into a thin line. "I fear the day that that one comes into true power," he said to himself. "Find the Wing Goddess, my Dragon King, or that day will reach us all too soon. I will do what I can, Teiring willing."

* * *

Riyad pressed his back against the wall of the Abaharaki guild-home, attempting to conceal himself in the scant shadows that midday offered. All his senses, both physical and psychic, went on full alert. His breath quickened. Where had his foe disappeared to? Where?

Snow crunched behind him. He gasped, whirled around—and breathed a sigh of relief. "Guild Master! You nearly frightened me to death!"

"Frightened you to death? What are you hiding from, Riyad?" Leland looked down upon the younger man, glittering eyes concerned. "Is something wrong?"

"Sir, I-" Riyad cut off abruptly and stumbled forward as something struck him in the back of the head. Leland's eyes widened.

Azumi giggled and ducked around the building. Riyad grinned and scooped up a handful of snow. "There you are! I'll get you!" Azumi shrieked and dashed around to hide behind Leland. Riyad's snowy projectile struck the Guild Master squarely in the face.

Riyad reddened. "I—I'm sorry, sir."

Leland scrubbed the back of a hand across his face. His manner remained serious, but his eyes sparkled with amusement. "I take it you two are enjoying yourselves?"

"Yes, sir," Riyad answered.

"Yes sir!" came Azumi's reply, with more enthusiasm.

Leland nodded. "Good. I want you to feel at home, Miss Azumi." He looked back over his shoulder at her—she still hid behind him. "We've decided to take you to the Oracle. He can tell us if you really are the Wing Goddess, thought I have little doubt."

Azumi didn't know what to say to that. If she didn't want to go, she couldn't do much about it. Should going to the Oracle excite her? Riyad had spoken of him with respect and awe in his voice. She felt bad, though, to make everyone take such a trip just for her.

Azumi nodded, scooped up another snowball, and flung it at Riyad. The Delphi glared at her playfully and drew back his arm to return his own.

Leland stepped to the side. "I'll not be your shield, Miss Azumi," he told her.

"Please?" Azumi dove behind him to avoid the oncoming snowball. Riyad looked back and forth from his hand to Azumi and Leland.

"I can't throw it at the Guild Master, but I did agree to Miss Azumi's game." He looked to Leland helplessly. "This is very unfair, Guild Master!"

Leland took Azumi by the shoulders and pushed her in front of him. Riyad brightened, and the snowball struck her in the face. "Good aim, Riyad. If you can copy it with your bow, you'll be raised to Journeyman very soon. If you'll excuse me." He bowed slightly to Azumi and entered the guild-home.

Azumi turned to Riyad. "You didn't tell me that you're only an Apprentice."

"The Guild Master told you yesterday, didn't he?"

"No."

"Oh. I thought you knew. It's sort of easy to tell, I'm in trouble right now. I accidentally burned off Journeyman Sapir's hair two nights ago." Azumi stifled a giggle.

"So _you're_ that Apprentice that Mr. Leland mentioned!"

"Well, I didn't mean to drop the candle!" Riyad protested. "And she was lying on the floor, I tripped over her!" Riyad knelt and started pushing the snow into a pile, shaping it into a miniature snowman. "I've learned by now not to assume anything. It could get me killed someday, especially if I'm divining." He leaned back to scrape up more snow from behind him.

"Will you tell me about the Oracle?" Azumi asked.

"He's a Delphi of immense prophetic power. He's the most powerful seer on Gaea." Dissatisfied with the snowman, Riyad kicked it and shook the snow from his cloak. He started back toward the guild-home. "He's also the Keeper of the Siren."

"Siren?" Azumi asked, following him.

"Naiades, the Delphi's Armour. The god of the sea." Riyad held the door open for Azumi. A wave of warm air hit her like a wall, wrapped around her as she entered and melted the snow that clung to her. Riyad hung his damp cloak from a peg on the wall and took Azumi's from her.

They heard the chime of bells, and in a few moments Sapir appeared. She thrust her face into Azumi's, standing on her toes, and stared at Azumi intently. "Where've you two been?" she demanded accusingly. Azumi shrank back.

"The Pool of the Nereids," Azumi answered timidly.

Sapir did not relent, those sapphire eyes unblinking. "Your color's better. Ya looked like a ghost or somethin' yesterday. We're goin' ta th' Oracle tomorrow, you know. Sleep good tonight." She turned and walked away.

Azumi blinked. "How strange."

"That's Journeyman Sapir for you. It takes her awhile to warm up to strangers. She keeps us all guessing." Riyad hung Azumi's cloak on the wall next to his own. "She has a good point, though. We'll want to reach my Clan as fast as we can. We'll probably leave early tomorrow morning."

"Everyone is picking up and traveling across Gaea for me?" Azumi wondered in disbelief. No way! I'm not worth it!

"All for you. You're a very special girl, Miss Azumi." Riyad hopped on one foot, trying to pull his boot off.

"But, you don't even know if I really am the Wing Goddess," Azumi argued. _I'm not worth it. I'm not worth it._

"That's what we're trying to find out." Riyad tossed the other boot down and pulled off his wet socks. "Don't think such negative things about yourself, Miss Azumi, you're not imposing."

"Think what things?" she asked, trying to sound innocent. Was she really so easy to read?

Riyad tapped the side of his head with one finger, smiling sweetly. "You forget, I'm a psychic. I'm sorry to intrude on your thoughts, but you should know that you are definitely worth it. You're a person, and for that alone it's worth it, to help you find your home. You're no less important than anyone else. Don't you agree, Miss Azumi?"

"Yeah." Azumi looked down at her feet. _Absolutely not. I'm a horrible person and I'm making my family worry by coming here for my own selfish reasons. If anything I want to die, not get back home! Absolutely not._

* * *

The crescent moon shone bright in the cloudless sky. Despite Sapir's advice to sleep, Azumi stood at the window of her room, staring out across a Gaea dead with winter. She had wrapped the quilt around her shoulders to cover her nightgown—not really a nightgown, a soft tunic of Riyad's that came down to her knees.

Beside that crescent moon, the larger blue moon sparkled. Was that really the Earth, she wondered, or just a blue moon that looked a lot like it? _Geez, I've hardly even thought about home all day. I'm so far away; it's so easy to forget. My parents must be worried. No, they're probably better off now that I'm gone._ Somehow, her thoughts of home seemed distant and small compared to what she faced in the present. _Could I really be a goddess? No way, there's just no way. Why did that guy choose me, of all the people he had to pick from? I'm not the right person. I'm not smart enough. I'm not good enough. He messed up somewhere._ She sighed and flopped back down on her bed.

Her mind continued to wander, and presently it came to the Pool of the Nereids. _I wonder what was in there that grabbed Riyad? If I can break through the ice like he did, I'll know if I really am the Wing Goddess. I'll know what the Oracle will say, and then we won't have to make that trip to the Blue Siren Clan, wherever the heck in the world that is. Riyad did say that it's easier to divine for yourself than for someone else, right? He did tell me not to go near it, but it doesn't really matter if something happens to me, anyway. I don't have anything to lose. What if it says that I'm not this Wing Goddess? Will they just abandon me? Or will they send me back home? No, I don't want to go home! Even this place must be better than home! I'm so selfish. What does it matter what I want? I have to save them that trip to the Blue Siren Clan._

Azumi dressed quickly and passed downstairs, shoes in hand. Even in these hours of the night, the Abaharaki guild-home did not sleep. Faces that she could not put a name to read and wrote by candlelight, or moved about softly with their own tasks. Three men gambled by the fireside, rolling dice in a cup. Another slouched in a chair, his feet propped up upon a low table, the stone in his hand making a quiet whisk-whisk as he drew it across the edge of a dagger. An approaching maid quietly reprimanded him, and he put his feet on the floor as she cleaned the table with a rag.

A log shifted in the fire, sending up a shower of popping sparks that danced about like dust motes in a sunbeam before winking out and settling on the floor as ash. All heads snapped up, searching for the source of the sudden noise. Azumi tensed and held her breath. What if they caught her? Her mind worked frantically, searching for an excuse. She couldn't sleep. She wanted to see more of the guild-home. She thought she had heard someone calling her. No, lies, all of them lies, and she did not want to lose the trust of these people.

The Abaharaki focused their attentions on the fireplace, quickly dismissed it, and returned to their various tasks. Azumi let her breath out slowly, took her borrowed cloak from its peg, stepped into her shoes, and slipped out the door.

However cold the air during the day, the temperature plunged after the sun set. No clouds lingered to hold in the heat, after all. Azumi tightened her ponytail and started off in the direction of the Pool of the Nereids. She hunted through the snow until her fingers went numb, but could not find another stone. Well, she would have to try it anyway. Azumi pushed on and stepped out onto the ice.

She shivered and pulled her cloak tighter about her. _I hope this doesn't take long. I'm freezing._ She went slowly, testing the strength of the ice until it finally cracked underfoot. Riyad's hole from earlier. She backed away several steps and stomped down hard.

Azumi gasped as her foot splashed into water colder than anything she had ever experienced. _I think the water is colder than the snow! Well, at least it's working._ Azumi widened the hole and scooped out chunks of ice, painfully aware that she could hardly feel her hands and feet. _I'll be all right. I'll be all right._

A head and shoulders broke through the surface of the water. Azumi stared at it. What is that thing? Maybe it's what grabbed Riyad? It must be.

"H-hello?" Azumi ventured. The aqua-haired mermaid bared her teeth in what seemed more like a mischievous smirk than a true smile.

Her hand caught hold of Azumi's ankle. She pulled, and Azumi screamed once before the dark water closed over her head.


	5. Chapter 5: Mermaid Captive

**Keeper of the Dragon  
Chapter 5 - Mermaid Captive**

In the black and the blue, he coolly cleaned the red from silver as sharp as flame. "I will be the Keeper of the Dragon," he said softly, ominously, barely above a whisper, to the still-warm corpse before him. "For I am the sun-child, and even the glorious moon's light comes only from what the sun so graciously gives. Silver cannot compare to gold in beauty or worth. Your moon has set, Brother, and the time has come for my sun to rise."

* * *

Azumi squirmed as the mermaid pinned her arms behind her. _No! Mermaids are supposed to be nice creatures that talk to fish and fall in love with humans and play with bubbles!_ Another held Azumi's legs firmly together, efficiently putting an end to her kicking, and a third clamped a hand tight over her mouth. Azumi's lungs burned as the break in the ice and the flash of the starry sky that it offered grew smaller and smaller above her. The freezing water felt like thousands of blunt needles that jabbed into her skin and leeched away the strength she had used to fight back. _I'm sorry, everybody. I know that you wanted me to be the Wing Goddess. I'm sorry to let you down, but I'm just not strong enough. I'm not good enough for it. For you. You were all so kind to me; I don't deserve to know such good people._ Azumi felt warm, now. _Strange. I hear that people get warm before they freeze to death. I wonder if it's faster than drowning? I hear that drowning is like doing drugs, though. You get happy and groggy, and just fade away. Maybe it won't be that bad._ Bubbles floated past her, jelly-like. Where did they come from? Why didn't they ever surface? She could almost reach out and seize one in her hand, but the mermaids still held her tight and pulled her down, and she had started to feel so tired.

Complete darkness enveloped her now, wet and cold, and still the mermaids forced her down.

_Wow. I didn't know that I could hold my breath for this long,_ she thought groggily. _Well, maybe it only feels like it's been a long time. Or maybe I'm moving faster than I thought. Oh, I'm an idiot. Why don't I just give up now and save myself some trouble? It's what I've been wanting all along, anyway. Now I've got the chance._

A faint glowing appeared at Azumi's feet, growing stronger as she descended. _Aha. The light at the end of the tunnel. Hmm. I don't remember dying. Did I miss it? Funny, I always thought that the tunnel would be horizontal._

Another, stronger hand gripped her ankle and jerked hard, jarring Azumi. The mermaids lost their hold on her—their hands sliding away felt like razors across her frozen skin—and suddenly she lay sprawled on her stomach on dry stone, coughing up water and gasping in air. Air! At these depths! Where did it come from? Why did it not float up like the bubbles?

"Hmm. A woman. I never thought I would see one of those again."

Azumi's head jerked up. Her hair had come loose from its tie and hung dripping in her face. She pushed it back behind her ears, like parting a soggy curtain. She shivered and hugged herself, her breath making fog in the air. Dry, yes, but still as freezing as the surface; more so, even!

"Is someone else down here?" Azumi asked. The pale light that glowed from the floor bounced off the stony sides of the Pool but illuminated none other than herself, not even the mermaids that she knew still swam above her.

"No, I'm a disembodied voice come to keep you company. Good gods, woman, turn your damn head! I'm right behind you!"

Azumi looked back over her shoulder, wet hair whipping around her face. There he sat against the wall of the Pool, feet crossed at the ankles, arms folded in an air of self-confidence. The dome of air ended just above his head. He watched her with eyes of such a light blue that they gave him a mad look. _This must be someone important, to judge by his clothes,_ Azumi thought, squinting to make out the details of his appearance in the low light. He wore fine, red cloth, the black edge of a mandarin collar curving around the hollow of his neck in the shape of an upside-down clover. He had short hair, such a pale platinum blonde that it was almost white.

He unfastened a chain from around his neck—the thin, delicate, golden links reminded Azumi more of something that a woman would wear—and toyed with it in his hands, pouring it through his fingers. "Do you see me now? Or are you blind?" His voice held a biting edge of sarcasm to it.

"I see you," Azumi answered. My, but the light from the floor cast some strange, haunting shadows over his face.

"How long have you been down here?" Azumi asked.

"Oh, I don't know." He shrugged casually. "A long time. I don't think that time passes down here; I should have starved to death by now, but here I am, as you can see."

"Why don't you just swim out?" Azumi questioned.

He jerked, looking startled, and dropped the chain. "I—well—it's just too dangerous to try," he finally stammered. "I'm better off waiting."

"The mermaids?" Azumi asked.

"The mermaids? Yeah, sure, whatever." He recovered the chain from the floor, leaving a smear of red on the stone. His sleeve—red up to his elbow, but not the red of the dye of the cloth—looked wet.

"Hey." Azumi pointed. "You're bleeding."

He shrugged again. "It'll stop. It did the first time, and it was a lot worse then."

"What happened to your arm? You look like you've been burned." Azumi moved to crawl to him—they didn't have the room to stand.

"Don't come any closer!" he snapped. "You ask too many questions!"

"Sorry." Azumi fell silent.

He studied her for a long time before speaking again. "Do you have a name?"

She looked up. "Kuronari Azumi."

"Kuronari Azumi? Hmph. What kind of a name is that?"

Azumi frowned. "Is yours any better?"

"Maybe." He changed positions, bending his left knee and casually resting his left arm atop it. "I don't know. To tell you the truth, I've forgotten it."

"Forgotten it?" Azumi wrung out her hair, the small splash as the water touched stone echoing loudly in the small space. "How could you forget your own name?"

"It sounds strange, doesn't it? It's the one thing that's truly mine, the one thing that no one can ever take away from me. But, that which we do not make use of, we will lose, and I haven't needed it much down here."

Azumi looked up. Black. "Someone will come for me."

Her companion laughed. "Oh? Why would someone want to risk drowning just to save you?"

Azumi looked down at her hands. "You're right. I don't know why. I thought—because they keep telling me that I'm the Wing Goddess. I don't believe them, though."

Her companion straightened noticeably. "You're the Wing Goddess?" he questioned, eyes narrowing with interest—or suspicion.

"That's what everyone says. Have you heard of it? Nobody can tell me anything, except that they don't know anything because it's a matter of the Dragon Clans. Hey, can you?" Azumi asked hopefully.

"The Wing Goddess is a matter of the Dragon Clans." Azumi's face fell when she heard those words spoken again. "But yes, I know of her. Probably more than most outside of the Dragon Clans."

Azumi clapped her hands joyfully. "Will you tell me?"

"No," he answered bluntly.

Her face fell. "Why not?"

"I have my reasons. If you really are descended from the Mystic Moon, then you don't know enough about Gaea, and none of it will make any sense to you. Frankly, I don't feel like putting forth the effort right now. If you really are the Wing Goddess, they'll try to get you out. But I doubt it will work. They couldn't even get me out."

"Did you get too close too?" Azumi asked. He glared at her.

"Not by any fault of mine, I have more sense than that! Someone pushed me in."

Azumi gasped.

"Why would someone do that?"

"They wanted me dead, of course. Why else? For their health? 'Hey, we haven't filled our pushing-people-into-the-Pool-of-the-Nereids quota for this week'?" He rolled his eyes. "Think about it, woman! You make a lot of enemies in my job." He waved her questions away. "And you'll make enemies too, Azumi Kuronari Angel Grey, if you go around telling people what you are. There's plenty in the Gray Griffin Clan who will kill you just for your wings."

"For your wings?" Azumi shook her head. "What does _that_ mean?"

Her companion grinned, displaying a set of very white teeth that seemed just a bit too sharp. "Go on and guess. We have all the time in the world. You figure it out."

* * *

"Guild Master!" Riyad pounded on the door to Leland's room. "Guild Master!" he cried. The door opened.

"Riyad? What's wrong?" Leland ushered him in. Though late, he had stayed awake to plan the journey to the Blue Siren Clan, and he still wore his clothes from the day. He took the single candle burning on the desk and used it to light several stand-lamps around the room.

"Guild Master, Miss Azumi is gone!" Riyad cried.

"How so?" Leland asked him.

"I saw the door to her room open. I looked in to make sure she was all right. If she wanted privacy she wouldn't have left the door open, would she? And I didn't see her! I looked around and I can't find her! Sir, her shoes and her cloak are gone!" Riyad wrung his hands frantically.

"At least we know that she's probably left by her own free will. The last thing we need is someone trying to kidnap the Wing Goddess. Calm down, Riyad, she hasn't been taken away. Perhaps she just couldn't sleep and wanted to take a walk." Leland sat on the edge of his bed to pull on his boots. "Where could she possibly have gone?"

"I already looked in the kitchen! I don't know, Guild Master! You don't think she went back to the stars, do you?"

"Unlikely. Even if she isn't the Wing Goddess, Miss Azumi is here for a reason." Leland tugged at his boot. "Did she show any particular interest in any of the places you took her to today? For all you know, she may just be in the kitchen talking with the cook."

"I don't know!" Riyad frowned, thinking. "She asked me a lot of questions about the Pool of the Nereids."

"That place causes so much trouble. We really should put a fence around it. We'll try there first." Leland blew out the lamps. "Find a few of the others. Tell them to bring blankets. Meet me at the Pool."

Riyad nodded, bowed, and rushed from the room. Leland hurried down the stairs, snatching his coat from the wall and shoving his arms through the sleeves.

When he reached the Pool, the ice had already begun to freeze over the hole Azumi had broken. Leland found it easily, though, and his suspicions proved correct when the ice cracked and a mermaid's head broke through the surface.

"Guild Master!" Riyad jogged to meet him, a bow in his hand and a quiver hastily tied to his back. Several Abaharaki ran behind him.

"The mermaids have her, Riyad," Leland told him.

"Poor Miss Azumi." Riyad bowed his head, blinking hard. "Poor Miss Azumi. They must have drowned her."

"Perhaps." Leland nodded to the mermaid. "Take care of her."

"Yes sir." Riyad bent his bow and aimed carefully at the mermaid. Her eyes widened; she hissed and dove beneath the water, and Riyad's arrow struck the surface with an empty splash. "I'm sorry. I was too slow."

"It's all right." Leland shrugged out of his coat and kicked off his boots. "The Abaharaki guard it for a reason. Watch the opening. Don't let it close up. Make it a bit wider, if you can. And give me your dagger."

"Guild Master, you aren't going down there!" Riyad protested, handing over the weapon; Leland already held another.

"This Pool has secrets that not even the Delphi know," Leland told him. "Watch the opening." He flicked his braid over his shoulder and dove in.

The water hit him like a freezing wall. Leland fought back the urge to gasp in shock and swam. The mermaids rose to meet him, reaching out with slender and delicate hands to pin him and drag him down, their all-too-human faces serene and inviting. Leland slashed with the daggers when they came near, kicked at the mermaids, lashed out with whatever he could when he felt something brush his skin, anything to keep them from grabbing hold. The blood in the water stung his eyes; he closed them and continued the fight blind. Their nails scratched at his skin, but the red marks disappeared quickly, healed by the water. All at once the mermaids vanished. Lungs burning, Leland finally rose back to the surface and gasped for air.

"Guild Master." Riyad offered a hand to help Leland from the water. Leland shook his head.

"That's their blood, not mine. I'm going back down. I think I've frightened them away." Leland tossed the daggers onto the ice, took a deep breath, and dove again.

Cowardly when faced with steel, the mermaids bothered him no more, fled off through a waterway to the sea. Leland could not hold his breath long enough to reach the bottom. On an impulse he caught one of the mysterious bubbles that floated up from the bottom, cupping it in his hands and raising it over his head, tilting his head back and bringing his lips to it. Air! He could breathe it! He continued his descent, slowed by his need to stop and renew his lungs. At least he had a chance of reaching the bottom, now. He prayed that his strength would prove sufficient for him to swim the entire distance. Down, down into darkness.

Azumi looked up at the water. "There's someone coming!" she cried in excitement.

"Just a mermaid." Her companion did not even bother to glance up. "They won't bother us in here."

Azumi pointed. "It's Mr. Leland!"

"Leland?" The man's voice had an odd tone to it.

The Guild Master burst into their bubble of air and landed on his back, lay with his eyes closed a moment to recover his breath. "You know this man?" The pale man asked, edging away from Leland.

Leland pushed himself up and sat back on his heels. "Miss Azumi, thank Scherazade you're all right."

Azumi flung her arms around Leland's neck and hugged him. "You came for me!" Businesslike and awkward, Leland did not return the embrace.

"We have to get you out of here."

Azumi pulled back. "Can we take him with us?"

Leland froze. "Him? There's someone here with you?"

"There is," the pale man answered, lifting a cautious hand in greeting. His light gaze watched Leland very, very carefully. The Guild Master stared at the pale man, eyes wide in something akin to surprise and horror.

"Mr. Leland?" Azumi tugged at his sleeve. "We can't just leave him here, can we?" Leland shook his head, clearly wrestling with the decision. Why did he have such a hard time making up his mind? Maybe he did not think that could get the both of them out. Oh, what a decision to make! Azumi thanked the Gaean gods that it did not belong to her.

"Can you swim?" Leland asked the pale man finally, slowly. The pale man started.

"Swim? Well, I-"

"Then hold onto me." Leland wrapped an arm around Azumi's waist and held out another for her companion. The pale man paused.

"No, I can't."

"Why not?" Azumi asked.

"I-I can't."

Leland's face softened, and he looked somewhat relieved. "You're afraid. I understand. Being trapped down here for any length of time-"

"I'm not afraid!" The pale man set his jaw firmly. "I'm not afraid. I just don't want—oh, never mind. Alseides help me, here goes nothing." He joined the other two.

In unison they jumped, and began to swim up. Almost immediately the pale man stiffened and ceased to kick, grimacing, his eyes squeezed tightly shut, his fists clenched. Even with his dead weight, up went faster than down.

They broke through the surface of the water, and the pale man screamed, his voice piercing the quiet night. The Mahavada pulled them onto the ice and draped blankets around their shoulders. The pale man simply collapsed, the ice around him turning crimson.

"What's wrong with him?" Azumi moved to kneel next to the man, but Riyad stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't touch him, Miss Azumi. He looks like he's been burned all over."

The pale man lay curled on his side, now quiet, breathing heavily. One of the Abaharaki worked to wrap him in a blanket that quickly turned wet and red.

"He wasn't like that before we came up!" Azumi argued. "This water is supposed to heal people, right?" She wrung her cloak out over the man. She didn't know what to expect—something—but he only moaned, eyes rolling back in his head. "It just looks like it's hurting him!"

"Stop that, you two, you are hurting him." Clutching his blanket closed with one hand, Leland crouched by the man's head and lifted a lock of his wet hair with one finger. "Look. He's a Demon."

"A Demon?" Azumi asked. "What does that mean?"

"He's from the Red Demon Clan," Leland answered. "They're half human, half Dragon."

"Who th' heck is this?" Sapir demanded. "How'd a Demon get in our Pool? They don't come 'round here, they don't like us!" Azumi shrugged helplessly.

"Do you really expect me to know? He said that he forgot his name!"

"Look at this." Leland straightened and held up a ruby sword. It bore a single, wickedly sharp edge, the blade slightly curved, and had formerly hung from a loop on the man's belt instead of a sheath. In the poor light of the Pool, Azumi had not even noticed it.

"It's beautiful," Azumi breathed. "A sword?"

"Not just." Leland passed the sword to Sapir. "It's the Token of the Demon."

Azumi looked at him helplessly. "Which means?"

"Which means that your young companion here is no common Demon." Leland swore softly. "Gods, I knew it when I saw him. We should have left him down there. I thought that we were rid of him. Miss Azumi, you've found Anshu Falconpointe, the lost, mad Keeper of the Demon."


	6. Chapter 6: Keeper of the Demon

**Keeper of the Dragon  
Chapter 6 - Keeper of the Phoenix**

"Still no sign of your Wing Goddess?" The man asked with a wry smile.

"No. I'm beginning to wonder if your Call even worked, Keeper." The other's eyes narrowed threateningly.

"It worked. The Call does not fail," the man reassured him. "It cannot."

The other clenched a fist. "Then, why won't you tell me where she lighted?"

"I can't, and you know that. It's part of the bargain made at the beginning of time. I lost sight of her the moment that she descended to Gaea. I can't feel her again until either you or Brisingamen find her. You keep forgetting that, and forgetting it won't change it."

"You told me that she would come to me! Well, where did she go?"

"I never said that she would come to you, just that she would come." The man sighed and shook his head. "Go home. You know the seasonal routes. Your people stopped by Adom, yes? They can help point you in the right direction, I'm certain, something the Oracle told me once. If the Wing Goddess is here, she will find you."

* * *

Though the fire crackled warmly, Azumi could not stop herself from shivering and clutching the sky-blue and white quilt around her shoulders. It felt good to finally dry out, but her hair still hung damp down her back. She felt warm, now; she did not shiver only from the cold.

The gathered Abaharaki all spoke in low voices about the mermaid encounter, and the man who had come up with her. Somehow, Azumi could not shake the feeling that bringing the Demon man back, not falling in the Pool in the first place, had been the greater wrong.

Azumi scooted closer to the fire, next to Leland on the floor.

"You're really shaken up, aren't ya?" Sapir tossed a fluffy, warm towel over Azumi's head, obscuring her vision. Azumi pulled it off to dry her hair.

"Nobody's ever tried to kill me before."

"Aw, they're just mermaids. They try ta kill everybody, it's nothin' personal! They didn't single ya out."

"Still!"

Sapir turned on Leland. "An' you! What were ya thinkin'? Ya've never done somethin' like this before!"

_Amazing how she can switch subjects so quickly,_ Azumi thought.

"We've never had the Wing Goddess fall down our Pool before, either," Leland laughed.

"Ya coulda gotten killed!" Sapir argued.

"But I didn't, did I? And what of Miss Azumi?" Leland sat up on his knees and wrung his braid out over Sapir's head. "I couldn't have just left her down there, and you know that." Sapir hmphed and shook her head, spraying droplets of water across the room.

"Speakin' o' Azumi!" Sapir jabbed a finger in Azumi's face. "What were ya tryin' ta do out there? Riyad told ya ta stay away, didn't he? Ooh, if he didn't, I'm gonna smash his little face into th' wall!" She brandished a claw-tipped hand. "Even an Apprentice should know better!"

"I'm sorry, he did tell me. I wanted to save you a trip to the Oracle." Azumi hung her head in shame. Sapir ranted on.

"Save us a trip ta th' Oracle? Lil' Missy, no matter what, no one 'round here can divine better than our lil' resident psychic, even if he can't always see for other people as well as he can for himself!"

"I didn't know. We don't have any Delphi where I'm from."

"Easy, Kitty. After all, she did find the Keeper of the Demon." This time, Leland's smile failed to touch his eyes.

"Yeah. He was in pretty bad shape, th' last time I saw him," Sapir noted, folding her arms, her tail swishing behind her.

"Will he be all right?" Azumi asked.

"Our Healer is with him right now. We'll see what happens," Leland answered.

"He looked like someone poured acid all over him." Azumi shivered again. "You said that the water did that to him?"

"Well, he is a Demon," Sapir answered, "an' Alseides is th' god o' sun an' fire. I doubt Demons really mix too well with th' magic water, but we'll ask th' Healer."

"We'll see what happens," Leland repeated.

Azumi looked to him expectantly. Shouldn't the Guild Master of the Abaharaki have some sort of sage advice to dispense at a time like this? Something to calm the nerves of a silly little girl far from her home? Leland was young, but surely wiser than she to have attained such a position as Guild Master. Azumi watched Leland, but he only stared into the fire, his face pained, one hand gripping his braid.

_I wonder where he picked up that habit?_

An Abaharaki that Azumi did not recognize shouldered his way to the fireside, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, blood-covered hands held away from dark-green and pale-rose clothing. Azumi gasped and stared.

"You're an elf!"

"An elf?" He glanced at her, his clear, blue eyes puzzled. "I'm an Erinyes."

Erinyes? But, he definitely had pointed ears!

He tossed chin-length, silvery-white hair back out of his face. "Guild Master, I've done everything I can for him," the Erinyes said bluntly. "I'm sorry to say that it's not much."

"Do you have any idea what burned him?" Leland asked. "It was the water, correct?" The Erinyes nodded.

"The water did it. The Demons can't touch it. I have no idea how he even survived the trip down there in the first place. I don't care how fast they can heal themselves; I don't think I can keep him alive for more than a few days."

"The Red Demon Clan will be furious if we can't save him," Leland groaned. "As tempting as it sounds, we can't let him die."

"Like I said, sir, I've done all I can."

The door eased open again, and the gathered Abaharaki parted to let Riyad slip in. Snow clinging to his cloak and boots melted and dripped to the floor, adding to the already-present puddles. "Guild Master, I've cast another stone."

"And?" Leland asked.

"Adom Village, sir, where the animal-people live. They have methods that our Healer hasn't heard of."

Sapir sniffed. "_I_ coulda told ya that! I'm _from_ Adom!"

"Really? Something new?" The Erinyes looked back over his shoulder, interested. "I wonder if they'd teach me?"

"If ya ask real nice," Sapir told him. "Think ya can manage that?"

"Oh, you wound me, Sapir! You know very well that I'm the sweetest and most pleasant person you've ever met in all of your short little life," the Erinyes replied with a joking grin. Sapir presented him with a raspberry, scampering behind Leland.

"They've brought people back from near death. I think they could help Keeper Anshu, sir," Riyad finished.

Leland sighed. "We leave for Adom, then. Tomorrow morning."

"So soon?" Sapir asked.

"We have no choice. We have to brush by the Red Demon Clan to get to Adom the fastest, and the sooner we get that over with the better, especially if we don't want them to find out about Keeper Anshu until we've gotten him healed," Leland explained.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Sapir admitted.

"Leave me now, please."

The Abaharaki quickly left, Riyad closing the door softly behind him. Azumi pretended not to have heard him and remained, watching Leland. She did not quite want to be alone yet. Leland did not seem to notice her small presence, but stared at the fire, his fingers working slowly to unbraid his long hair.

"You look sad," Azumi said, hugging her knees. "I guess I really screwed up this time."

"It's not you, Miss Azumi. You meant well."

Not comforting. She had once heard someone say that good intentions paved the road to Hell.

"Meaning well isn't good enough. It must be me. You've been miserable ever since you pulled me out, and you don't really seem like the kind of person who would sulk around just because you've gotten wet."

"It's not you," Leland repeated. "It's difficult to explain." He combed out a snarl in his hair with his fingers. "Did Keeper Anshu tell you how he ended up in the Pool of the Nereids?"

"He said that someone pushed him. Who would do a terrible thing like that?" Azumi rested her chin on her knees.

"Pushed him! Indeed!" Leland jerked at a knot in his hair. "Do you remember my telling you that, in very rare cases, an Abaharaki may accept an assassination job?"

"Yes."

"Years ago, two Abaharaki took such a job—to kill Keeper Anshu."

"Why?" Azumi asked.

"Gaea couldn't have him in power; it was too dangerous. He's mad, you know. They're all mad, the Demons, but the Keepers more than the rest, and Anshu Falconpointe more than most of the previous Keepers. Anyway, he found out about the plan and attacked the Abaharaki first. They fought here, outside, by the Pool. The Abaharaki drove Keeper Anshu to the edge—they had to kill him quickly, before he got it in his head to summon Alseides. The mermaids pulled Keeper Anshu in, but the Abaharaki died from their wounds." The firelight washed the color from Leland's face, replacing it with hues of gold and orange. "He shouldn't have lived," he whispered. "He should have died down there. The mermaids should have killed him before he reached the bottom."

_Oh, no, what have I done now?_ Azumi wondered with guilt. _He looks really depressed._

"I was only a child at the time," Leland continued. "I was so small, but I remember it so clearly. He laughed at me. I got in his way, so he picked me up and threw me into the side of the guild-home, and then he killed them. I'll never forget his face, laughing. He enjoyed it."

"Did you know them well?" Azumi asked. "The Abaharaki, I mean."

Leland paused, and when he turned to Azumi, his face held so much sorrow that she thought her heart might melt. "Yes, I knew them well. Arvid and Acantha. Arvid and Acantha Blackhawk."

Azumi jerked. "Your parents?" she ventured.

"My parents."

"I—I'm sorry." _Oh, nice thing to say. I'm sorry? That's it? Oh, no, I called his parents terrible earlier, didn't I?_

"For as long as I can remember, Keeper of the Demon Anshu Falconpointe's face has haunted my dreams. He's the wraith that hides in dark corners, and I want him to die. But I can't let him die. The Demons would throw a fit. They would probably destroy all of the Abaharaki just for revenge. Anshu is the most well-liked Keeper they've had in generations, oddly enough."

_I'm glad it's not my problem,_ Azumi thought. _Oh, that's terrible! I caused the problem in the first place!_

"So I want you to stay away from him, Miss Azumi. No matter how calm he may seem, how helpless he may look, he's not," Leland warned. "Stay away from him. All he has to do is speak the words 'descend to me, Alseides' to kill us all. He doesn't need to lift a finger; if he can move his lips, he can kill us all and we can't stop him. Do you follow me?" Azumi nodded. "Good. Now, go get some sleep. We leave for Adom at dawn."

"Yes sir." Azumi bowed and left the Guild Master by the fire.

She did not return to her room, though, but snugged the quilt around her shoulders and sought out the infirmary.

Azumi knocked softly on the door. "Hello? Is anyone here?"

The door opened, and the elf—the Erinyes—looked down at her. "May I help you?"

"Is Keeper Anshu doing all right?" Azumi asked.

"No." He tossed his hair back. "Not well at all. But, do you want to see him anyway?"

Azumi hesitated. "Yes, please." She waited, staring at her feet, for him to open the door wider and let her in. When he did not, she looked back up and found him studying her.

"You're that Wing Goddess the Guild Master talked about, aren't you?" he asked.

"Everyone says so," Azumi answered. He nodded slowly.

"I'm Silas Willowcreek, Abaharaki Guild Healer." He offered her his hand. Azumi hesitated. "What's wrong? I've washed all the blood off."

"Right." Azumi shook his hand.

"Anyway, come on in, Miss-?" He tilted his head to the side, waiting for her name expectantly.

"Kuronari Azumi."

"Azumi."

Azumi bowed to him and walked around Silas into the large, open room. "Where is he?" she asked. Silas gestured.

Azumi found Anshu suspended on his back in what looked like a tank of a milky liquid, his nose and mouth the only thing left exposed to the air. He still wore his clothes, even his shoes. His pale hair floated out across the surface of the liquid, making a sort of halo around his face.

"I couldn't take anything off of him," Silas explained. "His clothes have started sticking to his skin. The only thing I could really do for him was to dump him in and hope it heals him enough to keep his blood in. Not working so well yet." He reached back, plucked a lit candle from its place on a table, and held it down to Anshu's face; Azumi could see swirls of pink in the white liquid. Blood, diluted, but blood.

"So this is a Demon?" Azumi leaned over to peer at Anshu. "He looks plenty human to me."

"You'll learn the difference soon enough, I'll bet."

"The water really did this to him?"

"He's a Demon." Silas replaced the candle and sat on the table, swinging his feet. "It'll heal someone from any other Tribe, but the Demons are practically the opposite of every other Clan, so the water burned his skin when it touched him. Now, if the Pool had been filled with ordinary water, he'd be fine."

"Oh." _This is the guy who killed Mr. Leland's parents? Oh, boy._

Silas picked up the Token of the Demon, that red sword that lay on the table next to him, and held it up to catch the light. "Look at it. This is the great Armour of the Red Demon Clan. I'll bet that this blade can cut through anything. No steel would even slow it if Keeper Anshu was determined enough."

_No wonder he killed Mr. Leland's parents. With a sword like that, who knows what this guy could do? Oh, what have I done now?_

"Now, Miss Azumi," Silas continued skeptically, "I don't think the Guild Master sent you to have a chat with the Healer, now, did he?"

"No. I guess I'll go to bed, then."

"Sounds like a good idea."

Azumi glanced back at Anshu. She had never believed in any deities and had never prayed before, but she did now as she walked back to her room. "God," she whispered, "if You're real, why did You send me to this place?


	7. Chapter 7: Blue Ice

**Keeper of the Dragon  
Chapter 7 - Blue Ice**

Azumi woke with a start as Sapir dragged the blankets from her bed and cold air washed over her. "Get up!" the cat-girl commanded. "Up, Lil' Missy! We leave with th' light!" She waved a hand at the window, where the first feather touch of dawn lightened the dark sky along the horizon.

Azumi sighed into her pillow. "You really meant that literally, didn't you?"

"When Leland says somethin', he means it! Up! I've got a bucket o' cold water with your name on it if ya don't get movin'!"

Azumi jumped to her feet and found no such bucket, but the threat had worked. Too awake to return to sleep, she conceded. "Okay! I'm up!"

"Ya can eat on th' way! Get goin'!" Sapir shoved Azumi ahead and hooked the edge of the door with her foot to shut it.

"I can go on my own! Let me go!" Azumi argued, windmilling her arms frantically. Sapir's hands disappeared from her back, and Sapir tossed Azumi's cloak at her.

"Get goin', then!" Sapir's head popped through the opening in a heavy, navy poncho, and she dropped to all fours and scampered outside, oblivious to the chill. Azumi followed with a shiver; she had a feeling that cold air and snow would forever summon the memory of her mermaid encounter.

Several sets of footprints stood out clear in the snow, and Azumi followed them around to the back of the guild-home. A wagon of sorts awaited her—it reminded her more of a little house on wheels; it had walls and a roof, but no windows, and it was hitched to two of the strangest-looking horses that Azumi had ever seen. Double manes sprouted all the way down their backs instead of stopping at their necks. The animals tossed their heads and snorted, pawing impatiently at the snow.

The sun set quickly on Gaea (Azumi now understood the phrase "night fell" better than ever) and apparently it rose just as quickly, for now she could see the top of the bright circle peeking over the horizon. The door at the back of the wagon stood open, and Sapir leapt in. The wagon shook, and a moment later she jumped out again, stuck her tongue out at the doorway, and trotted to the front of the wagon to sit next to Leland, who held the reigns of the horses. Silas leaned out of the doorway to shake his fist at Sapir and shout a curse that Azumi did not understand. What did alfalfa have to do with anything? Oh, he was going to poison her with it. Was alfalfa poisonous on Gaea? Azumi assumed that it wasn't, judging by the way Silas shook his head, laughing.

Azumi ventured around to the door and peered in, finding the wagon much larger on the inside than it looked on the outside. A lamp hanging from the ceiling, as well as candles held in place by their own dripping wax, resting on shelves built into the walls, lit the inside like day. Cabinets of a light wood along the walls, their handles tied shut to keep them from jolting open, presumably stored the things they would need for their journey. Other than that the wagon held no furniture, save also a bed clearly built to fold up into the wall when not in use; now it held the Keeper of the Demon. Silas bent over Anshu, who lay very, very still, swathed in bandages from head to foot. The white strips of cloth sported a rusty color in spots; he had not stopped bleeding yet.

"That cat," Silas muttered to himself, "I know that none of us have any love for a Demon, but I have to save him. Running around in here like that, she'll kill him."

"Mr. Silas?" Azumi asked. _Oh, good grief, I sound like a mouse._

Silas looked up, and immediately his manner changed. "Ah, Miss Azumi." He nodded a greeting. "Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, thank you." Azumi stepped carefully into the wagon as Silas arranged a blanket over Anshu. "I'm sorry for holding everyone up."

"Don't worry about it. We're still waiting for Riyad, anyway." Satisfied, Silas straightened and tossed his hair back out of his face. "Is the Guild Master still out there?"

"Last I saw, yes."

"You tell him to come here. I have to have a talk with him."

"All right." Azumi hopped out of the wagon, snow crunching underfoot and freezing her ankles again.

Leland had not slept at all the previous night, and he could not hide it. His eyes, dark with fatigue, lacked their usual sparkle. One gloved hand held the horses' reigns; the other gripped his braid hanging over his shoulder. He sighed, leaned back, and closed his eyes.

"Mr. Leland?" Azumi tugged on the sleeve of Leland's brown coat. "Sir? Mr. Silas wants to talk to you."

Leland didn't change positions, didn't even open his eyes. "Tell him to come out here."

Azumi returned and relayed the message. _And please don't tell me that I'm supposed to go back out there and tell Mr. Leland to come in again. Silas grudgingly left his patient and trudged around to Leland, rubbing his arms and muttering about the cold._

"Guild Master." Silas looked up at Leland. "Are you planning to drive all day?"

"Of course." Leland still did not move.

Silas put his hands on his hips and assumed the timeless stance of a scolding parent. "Sir, I know for a fact that you stayed up all night staring into that fire. You can't stay up all day, too." Eyes closed, Leland half-smiled.

"Watch me. I've done it before."

"Yes, but that time we stayed up celebrating Sapir's birthday, not worrying ourselves to death about things we can't control." Silas arched a thin eyebrow. Azumi couldn't help but giggle to herself.

_He has pretty eyebrows! Is he sure he isn't an elf?_

"All right, then, as the Guild Healer, I order you to get in the wagon and get some sleep," Silas finished.

Leland finally opened his eyes and turned to look down at the Erinyes. "Who will drive, then?"

"I will."

"You know that you can't leave the Keeper."

"Let little Riyad do it, then," Silas argued. "If you're going to test him for Journeyman, then he has to get some leadership experience sometime. And Sapir can watch him just in case anything might happen."

"Hey, where do ya get off volunteerin' me for things?" Sapir grinned, stuck her thumbs in her ears, and waggled her hands at Silas good-naturedly.

Leland smiled. "All right, Silas, you win." He passed the reigns to Sapir and jumped down. "You know, I have a feeling that you'll keep the Keeper alive even if you have to beat the life back into him."

"Keep the Keeper. Nice." Silas grinned. "Heh. You know me too well."

Riyad came running toward them, a bow in his hand and a full quiver tucked under his arm. "I'm sorry, Guild Master! I'm here!" He tripped and just barely managed to regain his balance, his free arm waving wildly.

"Take care of this one, Sapir." Leland yawned and stepped up into the wagon, Silas closing the door as he followed.

Sapir beckoned sternly to Riyad. "C'mere, Apprentice." Riyad's eyes widened.

"Please don't hurt me, Journeyman!"

Sapir frowned. "Now, I haven't done anything ta ya yet! All I said was ta come here!" She pointed down. "Get your butt over here, Riyad!"

"Yes, Journeyman! Oh, Naiades, I'm in for it," he added to himself.

Sapir shoved the reigns at the boy. "Here. Ya get ta drive through th' Red Demon Clan." With the chime of bells and a soft meow she jumped up on top of the wagon and settled herself sitting at the edge, swinging her sandaled feet.

Riyad stared at the reigns as though he had never seen anything like them before. "A-all right?"

"And make sure ya keep an eye on th' sky, if ya know what I mean." Sapir grinned maliciously.

"Guild Master! Journeyman Sapir is scaring me!" Riyad yelped.

"Don't pay any attention ta him, Leland!" Sapir called.

Inside the wagon, Azumi shook her head, almost smiling at the antics of the two. Leland pulled off his gloves slowly, staring down at Anshu but not seeming to truly see anything. To Azumi's great surprise, the Keeper was not unconscious, but had locked his pale, unwavering, cerulean gaze directly upon her. She shifted uncomfortably. The wagon, previously pleasantly warm, had become strangely cold.

_I don't like his eyes, Azumi thought.. They're too cunning. He's dying, how can he be so intense?_

As if reading her thoughts, Anshu's eyes flicked to Leland, who frowned. Two pairs of sapphire swords clashed.

Anshu could barely move his lips, and Azumi had to strain to make out his words. "You. You're Arvid Blackhawk and Acantha Blackhawk's brat, aren't you?" he asked slowly. So, it was true. Leland had mentioned to Azumi that she should never tell a Demon her full name if she could avoid it. They believed that addressing a person by his full name would give them power over that person. She had hoped that Anshu would prove Leland wrong; she had already told Anshu her full name.

Leland stiffened. "I am the son of Arvid and Acantha, yes."

Anshu struggled with a laugh. "Well. It has been a long time. You were just a tiny thing when I saw you."

Leland's eyes narrowed dangerously. "I am now the Guild Master of the Abaharaki, and if you continue to disrespect the memory of my parents, I will order my Healer to withdraw his efforts and throw you out into the snow."

Azumi could hear a smug grin in Anshu's counter, even if he could not shape the expression. His laborious breathing made his words even more ominous. "Have the Abaharaki so grown in power that they can kill a Keeper without consequence? Remember, even now I only have to speak the words to summon Alseides to crush you all."

Leland's eyes went as cold as the ice across the Pool of the Nereids. "A dying man is threatening me? You have been as much as dead to the Red Demon Clan for years. To destroy your body and return the Token would sidestep any conflict."

"Ah, would it, now?" Anshu's half-lidded eyes glittered. "Descend-"

"No!" Azumi shrieked. _I created this problem; I can't let you kill all these people here!_

Anshu looked back to her. "The Gaean sunrises really are quite beautiful," he told her, his voice assuming a dreamy tone. He closed his eyes and dropped off into sleep.

Azumi blinked in surprise and confusion. "Sunrises?"

"Do you remember what I told you last night, Miss Azumi? He's mad." Leland looked down at his hand as if he had not realized that he gripped the hilt of his sword so tightly that his knuckles turned white. He released it and absently caught hold of his braid. "He's stark, raving mad. That's why the other Clans hired my parents to kill him. They didn't want an insane Keeper running loose. With such power that Alseides holds, he could destroy half of Gaea before someone managed to stop him."

"That's what Mr. Silas said, but he seems sane enough to me. At least, except for that stuff about the sunrises," Azumi said.

"You are very new here, Miss Azumi," Leland answered, looking away.


	8. Chapter 8: Fly

**Keeper of the Dragon  
Chapter 8 - Fly**

Leland looked away from Anshu, as if to blot the Keeper from his mind for as long as he could. "Did you bring the Token of the Demon, Silas?" he asked. Silas nodded.

"Yes sir."

"Make sure that he doesn't find it. Perhaps that will sober him a bit."

"Yes sir."

Leland leaned his sword against the wall and slid down to sit on the floor with a sigh. "Tell Riyad to get going."

"Yes sir." Silas leaned out the door. "Riyad! Move it, Apprentice! We don't have all day!"

"Yes sir!" Riyad called. The wagon lurched into movement. A thump, the wild jangling of bells, and a yowl told them that Sapir had fallen off the wagon; another thump and a yelp told them that she had taken it upon herself to punish Riyad for the rough start.

"And stop beating on the poor boy!" Silas added. "I think he's learned his lesson about candle safety!"

"I'm just makin' sure!" Came the mischievous reply.

Instead of sleeping, Leland untied his braid and began to work through the knots with his fingers in a dark, brooding silence.

"Guild Master," Silas said softly.

"All right." Leland rested his arms on his knees and his head on his arms. Satisfied, Silas gestured to the ceiling.

"Keeper Anshu didn't lie, Miss Azumi. The Gaean sunrises really are beautiful, not that we have any other sunrises to compare them to. The time may pass faster for you outside."

_Is he trying to get rid of me?_ Azumi thought. _I don't blame him._ With a boost up from Silas, Azumi climbed up through the trapdoor in the ceiling.

The sunrise lit up the sky with all shades of white and rose and pale orange and light blue; Azumi could not think of a word more appropriate than 'beautiful' to describe it. Looking at it somehow made her feel very refreshed and awake. The chill in the air did a lot to help that, too.

Sapir looked back over her shoulder from where she sat at the edge of the roof, swinging her feet. "Gettin' a lil' stuffy in there, if ya know what I mean?"

"Yeah." Azumi closed the door and crawled carefully next to the cat-girl. She hugged her knees to her chest and pulled her cloak around herself.

"I thought that there'd be some tension between th' Keeper an' th' Guild Master," Sapir noted. The wagon jolted as it bumped over a rock. Sapir growled and kicked at Riyad's head. "Apprentice!" she warned. Riyad ducked away.

"I'm sorry!"

"Why does Mr. Leland wear that long braid?" Azumi asked, trying to make conversation. That, and she really did want to know. She had never seen hair so long on a man before.

"Th' braid? Well, it's sorta personal," Sapir explained. "Th' last time he cut his hair was at his parents' funeral. He's been growin' it out ever since they died. Kinda in memory. Ya get it?"

"Yeah." Azumi looked down at her feet. "If I hadn't fallen in the Pool, Mr. Leland would never have had to come after me, and Keeper Anshu would still be trapped. If I hadn't come, Mr. Leland wouldn't have to be so sad right now."

"Aw, you're too hard on yourself." Sapir tossed her head. "Leland has ta face down his ghosts sooner or later. Ya've made him stop runnin' and do it sooner instead of later, that's all, an' it's not a bad thing. An' th' Phoenixes'll be happy ta have their Token back, not ta mention their Keeper." She thought a moment. "Th' Token more than th' Keeper, probably."

"Mr. Leland told me that Keeper Anshu was insane. Is he, really?"

"That depends on what ya call sane." Sapir swung her feet around behind her and stretched out on her stomach. "From what I've heard, he's mostly normal for a Demon."

Azumi froze. "You mean, there's more like him out there?"

"Well, yeah! There's a whole race of 'em! I thought that Riyad already explained that! You're gettin' lazy, Apprentice!"

"I explained it, Journeyman!" Riyad yelped, covering his head.

Sapir grinned. "He's so fun ta tease."

"I guess I'm just dense. Geez, a whole race just like him."

"And we get ta go straight through 'em. Ya know, I heard that he ate a butterfly th' last time he went ta visit the Keeper of the Siren." Sapir snickered. "It was in his face, an' he just grabbed it outta th' air an' popped it in his mouth. I don't know if it's true or not, but that should give ya an idea."

"We're only brushing by the Red Demon Clan," Riyad called up. Sapir blew a raspberry at the back of his head. Azumi lowered herself down to sit next to Riyad.

Though meek and submissive around his superiors—just about everybody—Riyad seemed to enjoy his chance at responsibility. He held the reigns easily, leaning back with his feet propped up against the footboard. "Were things a bit tense between the Guild Master and the Keeper?" Riyad asked.

"Tense?" Azumi exclaimed. "They were exchanging death threats! I don't know, maybe that's normal for Abaharaki, but I'm sure not used to it."

"Keeper Anshu could talk?" Riyad nodded in admiration. "I'm impressed. He shouldn't even be conscious."

"Are the Demons dangerous?" Azumi asked.

"Of course." Azumi moaned and buried her face in her hands. "I didn't mean it that way, Miss Azumi!" Riyad assured her. "In a way, everyone is dangerous, you know? Even I can't tell if a person is just walking by me, or plans to attack me and take everything I have. You just have to keep your guard up. You don't have anything to worry about. You've got the Guild Master and two Journeymen. And an Apprentice, if I count for anything." He smiled, and somehow she felt warm, even in this freezing weather.

"It's just so hard to find people to trust," Azumi said.

"Give the world a chance, Miss Azumi. You might be surprised."

Azumi shrugged, and the warmth left. "Sure."

* * *

The day, spent traveling through empty, snow-covered plains, passed without event. Gradually the snow phased out to dry, hard, dusty stone. Buildings appeared, growing steadily larger—the Demon city Ginnunngagap, according to Leland. Azumi hated the way the word sounded, the way it felt on her tongue when she tried to say it, and that only made it harder for her as they passed. The buildings, made of wood and paper, with the corners of the roofs curled up, looked painfully familiar. A steady roar hovered in the air, even at these hours of the night, pierced occasionally by a shout or a scream. The Demons themselves startled her. Their coloring varied from nearly albino, like Anshu, to so dark that their hair and skin and eyes were almost black—but there were no browns or peaches here, just one extreme or the other. Every single one carried a weapon, from the adults with swords and pole arms to the children with their belt knives. They stalked past the wagon, and watched it with such intensity that Azumi wondered if they might tear it apart by gaze alone.

Silas took control of the wagon now, and the others perched on top, sword in hand or arrow nocked. Azumi remained inside with Anshu, but opened the door a crack so she could peer out. She shut it soon, going pale.

Anshu chuckled at her discomfort. "Do my people frighten you, Azumi Kuronari Wing Goddess?" he asked, quietly but clearly. Azumi started.

"I thought you were asleep!"

"You didn't look closely enough. Come here." Azumi eyed Anshu suspiciously. "Don't be foolish," he told her. "I won't hurt you. I can't even move."

"I don't trust you."

"Good girl. You're beginning to learn the ways of the world. Now, come here."

"You killed Mr. Leland's parents," Azumi continued.

"It was them or me."

"Tell me what you want."

"I want to see the Wing Goddess in good light. Come now, you weren't afraid of me under the Pool, and I could have broken your skinny little neck with one hand if I wanted to."

"I wish you hadn't told me that."

"But I didn't touch you, did I now? Other than to pull you to safety?"

Azumi took a few tentative steps forward. True to his word, Anshu did not move. "You don't smile much, do you?" Anshu asked. Azumi shook her head.

_Don't try to make me tell you why. Don't ask me to explain it, I can't. I wanted to get away, but now that I have I just cause even more problems. I got my wish, and I should be grateful, but I'm not. You wouldn't understand. I'm a terrible person, and I'm ashamed of it, so don't make me tell you._

Anshu stared at her for so long that she wondered if he had fallen asleep with his eyes open. "Fly, Azumi Kuronari," he said finally. "Fly."

Azumi sighed. _Maybe he really is mad._

"Do we really have anything to worry about, Guild Master?" Riyad lowered his bow a moment and looked over his shoulder at Leland.

"I can't say. You never know what a Demon might do." Leland sat cross-legged behind his apprentice. He kept his mood casual, but he also kept his sword—a rapier—laid bare across his knees.

"They don't seem like they're paying much attention to us. They're all distracted by something." Riyad gestured to the Demons, who stood clustered in small groups on the street corners or even in the middle of the road, chatting excitedly. "You don't think they know about—I mean, you don't think they know, do you?"

"I would think that if they knew, all of their attention would be on us." Leland stood and sheathed his rapier. "Silas!"

"Yes sir?"

"Keep the wagon moving. I'll catch up with you in a moment."

"Wait a minute!" Silas protested, craning his neck to look up, "where are you going?"

"Don't worry about me." Leland lowered himself down from the edge of the wagon and jogged along the street. He grabbed the arm of the first Demon he met. "What's going on?" he asked.

The Demon frowned. "What do you mean? I'm not doing anything!" In the distance a man's voice screamed, and the Demon peered around Leland with a snicker. "Should have left her alone, that one, I could have told him that. Ah, well." the Demon sighed. "At least I don't have to pay him back now. Continue?"

"What's everyone talking about?" Leland asked.

"Ah." The Demon grinned, displaying teeth that seemed just a bit too sharp. "Haven't you heard? Somebody murdered the Keeper of the Siren."

Leland blanched. _"What?"_

"Yeah. The Oracle is dead."


	9. Chapter 9: Adom

**Keeper of the Dragon  
Chapter 9 - Adom**

Riyad cried out, dropping his bow with a loud clatter. "He _what?_"

Leland pulled himself back up on the wagon and sat cross-legged next to his apprentice. "Everyone that I asked said the same thing. Somebody murdered the Oracle. I wouldn't put it past the Demons to invent a story like that, but a simple tale probably wouldn't stir them up like this." He drew his sword again, setting it next to him where he could reach it easily should the need present itself.

"No." Riyad shook his head. "No, I don't believe it. He would have seen it coming."

_Denying it won't make it any easier to accept, Riyad,_ Leland thought. Aloud, he said, "Perhaps he saw it and allowed it to happen. Perhaps it needed to happen. Why don't you find out the truth?" He took the bow from Riyad's hands and set it down next to him. "I'll keep watch out here, don't worry." He sincerely hoped, for Riyad's sake, that the rumor proved wrong. And not just for Riyad—they all needed the Oracle. The Oracle would tell them if Azumi really was the Wing Goddess, what to do if their suspicions proved correct. They could not continue without the Oracle.

Riyad nodded. He took a deep breath. He closed his eyes. He opened his Eyes. He stood. His body remained sitting next to Leland.

He concentrated on his memories of the Oracle, formed an image of him in his mind. _Lord Shen_, he thought.

He stood at the top of a mountain. He could see for miles around him in the clear night, with no signs of any cities.

_Lord Shen._

He stood in the middle of a rocky expanse of barren wasteland. Black Dragon territory. Getting closer.

_Lord Shen._

He stood underground, in a cave with cracks in its floor that emitted steam. Torches along the walls provided the only light. Good. Almost there.

_Lord Shen._

He stood in a room of blue marble with waves etched into the walls. A ring cut from a single, flawless sapphire—or so it appeared—sparkled upon an altar.

_Riyad gasped. If the Token of the Siren is in the Shrine—he whirled around._

A noble-faced, elegant-looking man, his raven hair streaked white at the temples, lay in a glass coffin, his hands folded neatly. The tattoo of the Delphi clearly stood out pink on his forehead. The collar of his flowing, blue robes did not completely conceal the cut across his throat.

_No!_

Riyad felt himself falling backwards, down, and returned to his body.

"Well?" Sapir questioned anxiously, leaning forward on her hands.

"He's dead," Riyad said dully. The words sounded ominously in Leland's mind, like the thud of the executioner's axe in the chopping block. Tears welled in Riyad's eyes as he recounted the story. "Someone probably killed him in his sleep. It was too neat for a struggle." He swiped a hand across his eyes. "I'm sorry, Guild Master. I shouldn't cry like this."

"It's all right." Leland put a hand on Riyad's shoulder, struggling to think of something to say. He was not used to this; he had not tried or needed to give comfort in a long time. That was Silas's area. "It's all right, Riyad. It's not easy to lose your father. I know."

"Leland, they've noticed somethin's wrong," Sapir hissed. "We don't wanna get attacked! Can't ya shut him up for just a lil' bit?"

"Let them try to attack us. Remember, we have something they want." Not that this was logically the best time to be throwing all caution to the wind, but somehow it seemed like a good thing to do. Leland returned his attention to his apprentice. "Will you be all right, Riyad?"

"No!" Riyad's voice choked out through his tears. "It'll never be all right!" He looked up. "It could take months to find another Keeper of the Siren! What happens to Miss Azumi until then? What about my mother? What about my Clan? Oh, Lord Shen, Father—Guild Master!"

Leland tried to make his voice kind as he spoke. "It will be all right, Riyad. Your father's Temporary can take care of the Clan, that's what he's there for. Your mother can take care of herself, and the Abaharaki can take care of Miss Azumi. Don't try to shoulder all that yourself. You'll get used to death, I promise. Eventually, you will."

"I don't want to," Riyad wept. "I don't want to be like that. I don't want to lose my heart like that like that, Guild Master."

Leland sighed. He had already traveled down that road long ago. But, try as he might, he could not make it any smoother for his Apprentice to travel.

* * *

"He's in here." The old wolf-woman held open the curtain-door to a simple little hut, larger than the rest that made up the village of Adom. "He can't talk quite yet," the wolf-woman continued. "He's asleep right now. But ya can go in an' see him, if ya want."

"I don't mind," Azumi told her. "I don't think I'd have anything to say that would interest him, anyway."

The heady smoke of incense scented the air strongly. Straw curtains over the windows kept the light dim. Anshu lay on the wooden floor in the center of the room, a circle of animal-people and a few familiar faces kneeling around him. Azumi saw Silas next to the Elder at Anshu's head, exchanging quiet words. Leland, at Anshu's feet, stared hard at a spot on the floor, brow furrowed. Azumi walked around the circle and knelt next to him.

The Adom healers had drawn strange symbols on Anshu's skin and laid fronds of unfamiliar plants across his chest. Azumi had no idea how those techniques could possibly heal someone, but, she noticed, his skin was smooth and unbroken now, albeit pink, the burns gone. Some sort of magic? Did magic exist here? He looked peaceful, for he slept naturally now, a deep, healing sleep.

_Maybe I was wrong about him. He can't be that bad. Maybe he was just nervous because he was hurt._

"How is he?" Azumi asked Leland quietly.

"He's out of danger. He just needs to recover his strength now." Leland's voice did not reveal his feelings about the matter. He sounded distracted, or apathetic. He had acted moody and depressed ever since Anshu had appeared. "He'd been under the Pool for a good ten or fifteen years, give or take," Leland continued. "I sincerely doubt that he'll be able to walk. There was hardly enough room under there to sit. We won't have to worry about him running away on us, and he probably won't give us any trouble for some time."

"I guess that's good." Azumi sneezed. Geez, that incense was strong. "Mr. Leland? Why is Riyad so upset?"

"The Oracle is dead," Leland replied. He did not move his gaze from the floor, as if by refusing to look at Anshu he could deny that the man existed.

"Oh." Azumi twisted her hands in her lap. "Yeah, I can see why that would make him sad."

Leland unconsciously gripped his braid. "His name was Keeper Shen Heatherwilde."

Azumi looked up at Leland, startled. "Were they related?"

"He was Riyad's father."

"Oh." The reply sounded disgustingly insensitive to Azumi, but she couldn't think of anything else to say.

Leland finally turned to look at her. "Do you understand now what evil this man brings, Miss Azumi? I am positive that had he not come, the Oracle would still be alive." He looked away. "I should have thrown him back in, I should have let him die. I should have left him down there. No one would have argued."

"But you didn't." Azumi leaned back on her hands. "And I think that it takes a lot of courage to be able to forgive someone like that."

"Forgive? I haven't forgiven him for anything. But you say I'm the hero, Miss Azumi." Leland looked down at his hand, then relaxed his grip and tossed the thick braid over his shoulder. "Or am I the villain, for allowing this menace to return to Gaea? I wish I could still see the world so simply as you."

Sobered, Azumi looked back to Anshu. "What happens now? There's no Oracle."

"The Delphi will look for a new Keeper of the Siren. Hopefully, Naiades will choose one quickly, and we can continue. The sooner we get Riyad to his Clan, the better. The choosing will start with him, as the child of the last Keeper."

"What if they _don't_ find one quickly?" Azumi asked. Leland forced a smile. He had to keep smiling, for Azumi's sake. The girl was far too sensitive.

"That is not something you need to worry about. There is nothing you would be able to do about it," Leland replied.

"I guess not." Azumi coughed. That incense had made the room hazy by now. "I'm going to go back outside, Mr. Leland." The Guild Master nodded, staring at his spot on the floor again.

As Azumi reached the curtain door a young man with short, wind-blown, ebony hair pushed it aside. "I've brought you bandages, Elder," he announced. He wasn't an animal-person, but he dressed like them—simply, in animal skins and a rough, homespun tunic.

"Thank you, Anil," the old wolf-man replied. Silas rose to take the bandages.

Anil turned to Azumi. "You're an Abaharaki?" he asked, sizing her up skeptically and folding tanned arms. Before Azumi could answer, he shrugged. "I'm Anil Windermere."

"Kuronari Azumi." Azumi bowed.

"Kuro-?" Anil frowned. "I've never heard a name like that before."

"Yeah, well." Azumi shuffled her feet. "I guess that's because everyone thinks I'm-"

Silas coughed loudly. The Elder looked at him. "Are you all right, Journeyman Silas?"

"It's this incense smoke. It gets to me after awhile." Silas coughed again. "I think I'll just step outside a moment. Excuse me." He rose and crossed the room, grabbed Azumi's arm, and dragged her through the curtain after him.

"Ow! You're hurting me!" Azumi protested.

"Sorry." Silas let her go as they stepped outside. "Listen to me, Miss Azumi," he told her in a low voice, leaning down to put himself at her eye level, "you can't just walk around telling people what you are. That man who just walked in—he's the ruler of the White Dragon Clan, and therefore the top candidate for Keeper of the Dragon besides his brother, and he'd love to get his hands on you if he knew."

"I would what?" Anil let the curtain fall shut behind him. "Why would I want to get my hands on that woman?"

His brown eyes lit up with realization, and he grinned. "You!" Anil pointed at Azumi. "You're the Wing Goddess! You've come to me at last!" He took a step toward her, and Azumi cringed.


	10. Chapter 10: In Midair

**Keeper of the Dragon  
Chapter 10 - In Midair**

Standing in the room of green marble, the man opened his eyes. "Ah," he said softly, "there you are, my Wing Goddess." He smiled, fingering the folding fan. "I will not let you out of my sight now. You've found Anil; but, which Dragon will take you, I wonder? Which one will you Choose?

* * *

Azumi shied away from Anil and hid behind Silas. "No, I'm not."

"You are!" Anil tried to peer around the Erinyes. "That's what he meant! That he didn't want me to know that you're the Wing Goddess!" Anil's face lit up with childlike excitement. "You've come to me at last! I knew it!"

"No, I'm not!" Azumi argued. "At least, I don't think I am."

Anil frowned. "How can you not know?"

"You're kidding!" Azumi exclaimed.

"We're on our way to the Oracle to find out for certain." Silas looked down at Anil with a 'keep your distance' expression on his face.

Anil seized Azumi's wrist, his fingernails digging into her skin before Silas could slap his hand away. "Let me take her!" he argued. "She belongs to me!" Azumi gazed thoughtfully at the drops of blood welling on her wrist as Silas pushed her protectively behind her.

"Please keep your hands off of our companions, Highness."

Anil's eyes narrowed; he reached out for Azumi again, and Silas stiffened.

"Mr. Leland!" Azumi shrieked.

Anil flew backwards as though struck squarely in the chest, skidding to a stop on his back on the leafy ground. Riyad, several paces behind Silas and Azumi, lowered his hand as Leland ducked around the curtain door.

"I believe Miss Azumi has made it clear that she does not wish your company at this time," Riyad said. He looked as bad as Leland, dark circles under his eyes, his face wan.

Leland sighed. "Riyad, you can't throw the king of the White Dragon Clan around like that."

Riyad started. "King?" he squeaked. Leland nodded to the tattoos swirling down Anil's bare arms as the Dragon rose and dusted himself off.

"If you're looking for a fight, Delphi—" Anil growled. Green light flashed at his forehead, green light rushed through the air. Riyad yelped and dodged; an explosion flung bits of dirt and fallen leaves and scrubby plants through the air. Riyad stared at the hole where he had just stood.

"Enough!" Leland gripped his braid with resignation. "Riyad, we'll talk later. Highness." He turned to Anil, who folded his arms stubbornly. "Please forgive my Apprentice. A personal grievance clouds his judgment."

Anil nodded once, slowly. "Don't let it happen again."

Leland and Silas returned to Anshu in the hut; Riyad led Azumi away with a hand on her shoulder, casting a glance back at Anil as they left.

"What was that that he did with the fire? Magic?" Azumi asked, stepping up into the Abaharaki wagon.

"No," Riyad explained, "There's no such thing as magic. The Dragons have a few innate things that they can do, like the Delphi."

"What about the Demons?"

"Yes, them too. We'll have to watch out for Keeper Anshu once he's well. The Phoenixes are half Dragon, half human, you know. They aren't quite as powerful as the Dragons, but they're still dangerous."

"Mr. Leland said that we would go on to the Blue Siren Clan."

"He did?" Riyad closed the door. "It makes sense. We needed to go to the Shrine of the Siren anyway." Azumi nodded.

Sapir leaned down through the ceiling. "An' as th' son o' Keeper Shen Heatherwilde, little Riyad's th' first candidate for th' next Keeper o' th' Siren! Don't forget ta tell her that, Riyad!"

"Mr. Leland mentioned it." Azumi thought a moment. "Doesn't Naiades choose the next Keeper?"

Riyad nodded. "It does, but the position also tends to run in families. If your father is a blacksmith, you can't help but grow up learning all the things that make a good blacksmith, and you'll probably become one someday. The Heatherwildes have led for several generations now."

"Do you miss him?" Azumi asked. "Your father?"

"Well-" Riyad leaned against the wall. "When I was little, he was always out being the Oracle. I've always thought of him as Lord Shen as much as Father. I know it's a terrible thing for me to say, but I know it's true. I know that he loved me, though, and I know he tried to be with Mama and myself as much as possible. And it's not like he was just spending all his time trying to make money. He was helping a lot of people. So, yes, I do miss him."

Azumi could not imagine Riyad as a Keeper. He was too small, too young to command such power, right? Just like her. The Wing Goddess? A goddess? No way. After all, the Keeper of the Siren had died the day that she came to this bizarre world. Her fault. It had to be her fault.

She slid down the wall to sit on the floor. _It's my fault. Somehow it must be. It's always my fault. I'm a terrible person._ In a sudden burst of anger Azumi jabbed her thumbnail into the back of her hand. It hurt. But not enough. _Not enough to punish her for all the problems she had caused. My fault my fault if not for me I shouldn't be allowed to live it hurts but not enough not enough I hate myself I hate myself I hate I hate I hate I hate—_

"Miss Azumi!" Riyad exclaimed.

"What?"

Riyad nodded to her hand. Azumi looked down. She had broken though her skin, and now blood welled ruby on the back of her hand.

_Not enough not enough not enough…_ She stabbed her thumb into the wound again.

"Miss Azumi, stop!" Riyad caught her wrist. "You're hurting yourself!"

_Why can't they see what I am? Why do they all like me so much?_ Azumi hung her head. _I can't let anyone know. I don't want to disappoint them._

* * *

Azumi could not sleep with the rest of the people of Adom, though she was certainly tired enough. She felt perfectly safe. Leland had not even bothered setting a watch. She could not sleep. Far into the night, she remained huddled in the corner of the Mahavada wagon, very much awake.

_Can't take it anymore too much too much have to get away far away away from this life I want to die how long have I wanted to die it seems like forever why couldn't I have drowned with the mermaids I'm a horrible person I don't deserve to live…_ Her right hand gripped her left forearm, her fingernails dug into her skin painfully. Blood trickled down her arm. _I hate myself I hate myself hate I hate I hate I hate they say that God doesn't make junk but if He doesn't then why the hell do I exist now I'm swearing terrible habit I can't believe I did that I'm such an idiot…_

Azumi stopped. A slow smile spread across her face. There was a cliff not far from here, was there not? There would not be anyone to stop her if she went quietly.

Azumi found the path easily—white stones that nearly glowed in the pale moonlight covered it. She picked her way up out of the trees silently. When she reached the top of the cliff and looked over, she lost the bottom in darkness.

_Perfect. They won't find me until it's too late._

She paused for just a moment. _But do I really want to do this? She shook her head. How long have I wanted to get away? I don't want to burden these people anymore._

The chill wind picked up, and Azumi rose on her toes. Her cloak and wide sleeves billowed behind her like wings. She spread her arms wide, closed her eyes, and let herself fall forward, down, into bliss, into peace-

Someone grabbed her collar and roughly jerked her back. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Azumi Kuronari Wing Goddess? Trying to fly?"

Azumi whirled on Anshu, an Anshu fully healed and back to his former self. "Let me die!" She shoved him away from her. "Let me die! I want to die!" Never mind that he should be lying invalid in Adom right now! Azumi turned and lunged for the cliff.

"You're a persistent one, aren't you?" Anshu seized her around the waist with one arm, picked her up off the ground, and set her on her feet with his own body between her and the edge of the cliff.

Azumi sank to her knees and buried her face in her hands. "Why won't you let me die?" she sobbed, her voice muffled. "Why do you even care?"

"I have a use for you yet. There's someone who will want to meet you." He smirked. "Yes, I believe he will be very happy to see you." Anshu removed his shirt and tossed it to Azumi. "Here, hold that." He worked his head around in a circle, flexing his fingers, as if readying himself for some physical feat.

Azumi hugged the Demon's shirt to her chest. "What are you doing?"

Anshu crossed his wrists in front of his face, his fingers fanned gracefully, and wings—brown wings like a bat's—burst from his back, scattering a shower of glittering scales. He scooped Azumi up in his arms. He stepped off the cliff.

They did not fall. A flap of his wings sent them streaking off through the sky, far faster than running.

Azumi ducked her face away from the cold air that whistled past them. The cold didn't seem to bother Anshu.

"Are you kidnapping me?" Azumi asked suddenly. Anshu chuckled.

"Yes, this is a kidnapping."

"Where are we going?"

"To the king of the Black Dragon Clan. Brisingamen is their leader by now, isn't he?"

"I don't know."

Anshu beat his wings forward, hovering in the air, and shifted his grip on Azumi. "Before I fly all that way, I need to make sure that I caught the real Wing Goddess," he informed her.

"Can't. The Oracle got murdered," Azumi muttered.

"Who said anything about the Oracle?"

Azumi looked at Anshu, and he grinned wickedly. "Fly, Azumi Kuronari. Fly." Then he opened his arms and let her fall.


	11. Chapter 11: Escape?

**Keeper of the Dragon  
Chapter 11 - Escape?**

Azumi closed her eyes. _At last. He saved me, just to put me back in the same situation!_

She landed back in Anshu's arms with a jarring thud as he swooped down under her and caught her. "Good gods, woman, you're heavier than you look!" he commented.

"Is that how you test for the Wing Goddess?" Azumi asked sarcastically. "By dropping me? Mr. Leland should have tried that a lot sooner."

"Of course not! I just wanted to see what you would do!" Anshu tossed Azumi into the air, then caught her by her wrist and let her hang beneath him as he flew. "How about now? Are you afraid?" he taunted.

Azumi looked up at him. _I just tried to jump off a cliff; do you really think that the thought of being dropped from up here would frighten me?_

"No?" Anshu considered the situation mockingly. "Have I lost my touch during my time in the Pool of the Nereids?"

"Let me go, please," Azumi said quietly.

"Let you go?" Anshu began to swing Azumi back and forth precariously. "If I let you go, you'll die," he reminded her. Azumi kept a grip on his tunic with her free arm. Why? She should let them fall. It would serve him right.

"I know."

"But then, that's what you want, isn't it?" Anshu laughed harshly. "Oh, you are a problem. What to do with Azumi Kuronari Wing Goddess?"

"How about letting me go?"

"No, I think not."

Azumi reached up and dug the nails of her free hand into Anshu's wrist, drawing blood. "Ai!" He cuffed her across the face. "None of that!" Anshu tossed Azumi into the air and caught her in a more stable hold, picking up speed with another flap of his wings. "Don't force me to summon Naegling, girl. I know you want to die. Try that again, and I'll make sure you live a very long and very painful life," he snapped. Azumi shrugged. "And try to go to sleep," he added in a softer voice. "The journey isn't as long by air, but it will still pass faster for you that way."

Azumi frowned. Cruel to kind in the beat of a hummingbird's wing. _He must be mad after all._

* * *

As the sun began its sojourn across the sky, dying the blue a temporary peachy-pink, Riyad tread softly toward Anshu's hut. Winter birds chirped and sang; the cold, morning air smelled fresh. _I wonder if he's awake. The Elder said that he would be all right now._ Riyad pushed aside the curtain door.

The room was absent of the Keeper. A pile of neatly rolled, white bandages lay upon the folded blanket. Anshu's clothes and the Token of the Demon had vanished. He must have wanted them to notice that he had gone; he would have had no trouble disguising the blanket as a sleeping person. It left Riyad feeling as though someone had spit in his eye.

"Oh, Naiades!" Riyad breathed, "I have to tell the Guild Master!" He turned and dashed for the Abaharaki wagon, his cloak flapping wildly behind him. "Guild Master! Guild Master! Keeper Anshu is gone!" he cried, throwing open the door.

Leland lifted his head. "What, Riyad?"

"Guild Master!" Riyad dropped to his knees next to Leland. "Guild Master, Keeper Anshu's room is empty. Sir, he's well and he's left."

"Well, good riddance, then. The sooner we get rid of him the better, I say." Leland closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall.

"Leland!" Sapir leapt into the wagon and skidded to a stop on all fours next to them. "Leland, I've searched th' whole village an' I can't find the lil' missy anywhere!"

Leland looked to Riyad. "And Anshu has disappeared, too."

Sapir growled. "I thought I saw footprints goin' ta th' mountains! He must've taken her! She hasn't got anywhere ta go alone!"

In unison they bolted for the door. Leland snatched his sword, leaving his coat behind. "Hurry! Maybe we can catch up!" he ordered.

"Yes sir!" Riyad caught up his bow and quiver. Sapir had already jumped out the door, bells chiming wildly. They sprinted for the mountain path, the cat-girl in the leead, followed by Leland, Riyad close behind his Master.

"Guild Master!" Silas ducked out of Anshu's hut and spied the three running. "Keeper Anshu is—damn! I guess he already knows!" The Erinyes joined in the chase.

"They haven't been gone real long!" Stones crunched under Sapir's feet. "I can still smell 'em! They went this way, all right!"

"Guild Master!" Riyad struggled to keep up—the guild-home had no mountains or cliffs near it, he did not have much experience running uphill. "What would Keeper Anshu want with Miss Azumi?"

Leland glanced back down over his shoulder. "I really don't have any idea, Riyad. The Wing Goddess has nothing to do with the Red Demon Clan, at least as far as I know. Unless he means to use her to bargain with us or the Dragons, he has no use for her."

Riyad stumbled on the path. Silas caught him by the back of his tunic and gave him a push ahead. Sapir stopped abruptly, sliding on the path and spraying small stones into the air. "They didn't go any farther!" she announced, sniffing at the air. Leland looked around, turning in a circle.

"Well, they're definitely not here."

"Th' smell stops here!" Sapir insisted.

"Yes, but look at this." Silas crouched down, peering at the ground. "Look at these stones, Guild Master." He scooped up a handful and stood. "They're sparkling." Riyad gave Silas a questioning look. "Demon scales," the Erinyes explained. "Shed when they spread their wings. Keeper Anshu has flown away, and he probably took Miss Azumi with him."

Leland jumped up on a rock, the rising sun at his back, and gazed out across the forest and plains. "No sign of them. The gods damn it all!"

Riyad moaned and sat down where he stood. "It's hopeless! We don't know what he wants her for, they could have gone anywhere on Gaea by now!"

Silas tossed his hair out of his face, though it fell right back. "We need the Oracle."

"The Oracle is dead," Riyad replied bitterly.

"But his successor ain't." Sapir looked at Riyad knowingly.

"I can't do it." Riyad stood slowly, brushing the dust from his cloak. "I can't be the Oracle. We don't even know if Naiades will choose me."

"You sound like Miss Azumi," Leland said quietly, "and look where she is now." The blond man's words seemed to have an effect upon his apprentice.

"You're right, Guild Master." Riyad shouldered his bow with feigned confidence. "I'll do my best to follow my father."

"We can't do anything for Miss Azumi right now," Leland said, jumping down from the rock. "Our only hope is the Oracle. We leave for the Blue Siren Clan as soon as possible."


	12. Chapter 12: Demon Heart Sunrise

**Keeper of the Dragon  
Chapter 12 - Demon Heart Sunrise**

Azumi fell asleep long before they reached Aesir with the dawn. Once the sun had risen, Anshu let the fires that burned on his skin die down until he walked on the sunbeams, light splashing and rippling like water at his feet. He descended from the sky with the sun at his back, like a shining god gliding forth down a hill from the great body itself. He lighted softly at the foot of a set of wooden stairs, pulling in his wings with a final shower of glittering scales. He ascended the stairs confidently, as he had done many times before, feet tapping softly against the polished wood stairs.

Two guards carrying barbed spears stood at the door, one as pale as Anshu, the other the opposite. Young, probably in their middling teens and born after he had disappeared, they would not recognize his face. But any Demon, even a child, would recognize the Token. They straightened as he approached, faces hardening from looks of boredom to looks of suspicion. Good. Despite the absence of a Keeper from the Clan for so long, one still could not simply walk into the Keeper's buildings.

Even carrying the sleeping Azumi, Anshu easily assumed an air of power. He had learned the skill very early on in his rule, and a good thing, for it often required him to radiate authority to get anything done in his Clan.

"I am the lost Keeper of the Demon, Anshu Falconpointe," Anshu announced. "I return to you with The Demon. Step aside and allow me entrance!"

The guards took one look at the shining, ruby sword at his hip and nearly fell over themselves scrambling to move away with cries of "My Keeper!" They slid open the paper-and-wood doors for Anshu to enter, and shut them again behind him.

Anshu inhaled deeply. Ten years, had it been? Something like that, but the air still smelled like fire and sweet sandalwood. It had not changed at all. He still remembered all the halls he walked through, every painted screen. At this hour of the morning, none were about.

He wondered who had ruled in his absence. Upon his appointment he had chosen a Temporary, but the Demons never tended to hold positions not selected by the divine for long. Assassinations took place often, though the Keeper's authority could usually protect those he didn't care to have to replace. Even Anshu's Temporary had only been temporary; he had left instructions for the position to change to another in time. Had those orders ever been enacted? He had no idea. He might find the one he had chosen holding the power vacuum open, as per his command, or a Demon he had never seen before could greet him.

He would have a lot of work to do. The Demons, thanks to the human blood that mingled with Dragon to form their race, tended to fall into chaos if left without a solid, unquestionable leader for too long. Then again, the White and Black Dragon Clans had both gone centuries with no Keeper. Surely Anshu had not left the Red Demon Clan in such a state that it could not survive a decade or so led by a Temporary.

Now Azumi stirred. She opened her eyes, took a quick glance around at her surroundings, and looked up at Anshu. "Where are we?"

He grinned. Oh, yes, this would make her very uncomfortable. "Aesir," he replied. "The center of my Clan."

"I thought you said that you were taking me to Brisingamen," Azumi noted.

"He can come to me—use your head, woman, who's the Keeper and who's the King? A King comes to a Keeper's summons, not the other way around. There are only Demons here, Azumi Kuronari. You'd better get used to us." Anshu set her on her feet and pulled his tunic back on. "Follow me," he ordered. "Don't touch anything. And don't get lost. You human women have a bad habit of wandering off alone into places you aren't supposed to go."

Azumi nodded, folding her hands meekly and looking down at the floor. She trailed after Anshu through the hallways.

"Dammit, why isn't anyone here?" Anshu muttered. "All asleep. They've gotten lazy while I was gone."

Anshu spun abruptly and strode briskly back to the doors they had entered by. He threw them open. "You!" He jabbed a finger at the left guard. "Who is the Red Demon Temporary? Kiran? Is it still Kiran Falconpointe? Did Kiran even make it into office?"

"Y-yes, Keeper," the guard stammered.

"Go get him," Anshu ordered. "Now. Run. No, fly." He clapped his hands. "Hurry, boy!" The guard spread his wings and shot off through the air. His barbed spear clattered to the floor.

Behind Anshu, Azumi quietly knelt and reached for the spear.

"Really, you must be the stupidest little thing I've ever seen!" With greater speed than she had thought him capable of, Anshu stepped around Azumi and seized her hand, twisting it. She yelped in pain. It took so little effort to hurt; even the smallest movement would do it. She would go where he pulled her or risk breaking a joint. He pulled her back. "Don't try it, Azumi Kuronari," Anshu warned, "that belongs in the guard's hands, not yours. I guarantee that you'll find yourself on the floor before you can ever get it through me."

"I didn't mean it for you," Azumi told him, staring at her feet. Anshu frowned.

"You don't make any sense, girl."

"I meant it for me."

"Suicide? Hmph. Stand up." She did. He let go. "I won't stand for any of this from you."

By Alseides's talons! Anshu did not understand this girl at all! To be the Wing Goddess—to have such awesome power within herself—and she wanted to _die!_

"You're pretty selfish, you know that, Azumi Kuronari?" His back to Azumi, looking out across Aesir, Anshu unfastened the thin, golden chain from around his neck and toyed with it absently. "There's a lot of people out there waiting for the choice of the Wing Goddess. The Dragon Clans want to have a Keeper again. You could give it to them, but you won't. No, you run into a few hard spots in life, and you want to take the easy way out."

"I know. I've tried to change." Behind her back, Azumi jabbed her fingernails into her arm. It didn't hurt enough to punish her for all the trouble she had caused. "It didn't work. I hate myself, you know."

"You should." She couldn't mean that—that she hated herself, Anshu knew it. She was fishing for pity. How could a person hate himself? Only Anshu's pride had gotten him this far in life—his pride, and Kiran. "Dammit, where is he?"

The guard returned trailing behind another Demon, the aforementioned Kiran. Azumi immediately noticed a similarity between this Kiran and Anshu—not just their clothes, though Kiran dressed the same, with red for Anshu's black and black for Anshu's red—but in their faces. They looked incredibly much alike.

Kiran pulled in his wings and shrugged back into his tunic. Anshu grinned, sharp teeth flashing in the morning light. He had missed Kiran more than anything else during his time in the Pool. "I have to say, I'm impressed. I can't believe you've lasted this long as Temporary." Kiran bowed deeply, near-white hair spilling over his shoulders to brush the polished floor.

"My Lord Keeper, it's good to have you back again."

Anshu laughed—not his harsh, piercing, mocking laugh, but true, pleasant laughter—and his eyes sparkled. He had a beautiful laugh, Azumi noticed with some shock. "Lord Keeper? When did you start on that?"

Kiran straightened, smiling. "Father, then."

Azumi choked. _Father?_ Anshu frowned at her before returning his attention to Kiran. He lifted a lock of the Phoenix's long hair and raised an eyebrow. Kiran shrugged.

"By Alseides, you've grown," Anshu remarked, his voice strangely warm. "You're not the little Kiran I remember."

"You look exactly the same," Kiran observed. He paused as if in indecision, and took a swift glance around.

"Oh, come now. No one is watching us." Anshu opened his arms, and Kiran hugged him tight.

"I've missed you so much, Father! How did you manage to get out of the Pool? We've sent several to try to get you out, but none of them ever came back."

"You'll love the irony." Anshu pulled back and planted a kiss on Kiran's forehead, then held him at arm's length. "I owe my return to little Leland Blackhawk Abaharaki Guild Master."

"The son of Arvid Blackhawk and Acantha Blackhawk?" Kiran asked with a scowl.

"Exactly the one."

Azumi shifted nervously. The presence of these Demons already put her on edge, and the knowledge of Anshu's son seemed to unnerve her even more. Most people from other Clans did find it hard to believe, much to Anshu's eternal delight and amusement, that the mad Anshu Falconpointe had a family. It just did not seem right to them.

Azumi's movement caught Kiran's eye, and he peered around Anshu. "Who's this, Father?"

Now Anshu smirked, and rested a hand on Azumi's shoulder. "A gift, let's call her, for the king of the Black Dragons. Kiran, meet Azumi Kuronari, the Wing Goddess." Azumi bowed stiffly.

Kiran studied her with eyes as impossibly light brown as Anshu's were blue, something akin to eagerness or wickedness or even excitement in his face. One just couldn't read Demons the same way as other people. "Well, well. Welcome to Gaea, Azumi Kuronari Wing Goddess. You certainly do bring changes with you." Azumi shied away from Kiran.

"It's thanks to her falling in the Pool that the little brat even came in and found me," Anshu said. "Brisingamen is the king of the Black Dragon Clan, yes?" Kiran nodded. "I always knew that he would be. The White Dragon queen gave birth just before I went into the Pool. What did they name the whelp? I've forgotten."

"Anil Windermere, Father," Kiran answered.

"Anil Windermere. He ought to be about my age when I went in, now. Maybe a bit younger. He'll have the White Dragon Clan by now." Anshu's face darkened, and he drew the golden chain tight around his wrist. "No doubt he already knows that the Wing Goddess has descended to Gaea. He'll try to take her before Brisingamen does."

"But he can't stand up to a Keeper," Kiran reminded him.

"No, he can't." Anshu fastened the chain back around his neck. "Send a message to Brisingamen. Tell him to claim his prize."


	13. Chapter 13: Keeper of the Siren

**Keeper of the Dragon  
Chapter 13 - Keeper of the Siren**

Anil lost his temper in disbelief. "_He what?_ Anshu _took_ her? And you _let_ him?" he exploded.

"We did not allow him to take Miss Azumi." Leland struggled to keep his patience with the younger man. "He kidnapped her."

"And you call yourself a Guild Master!" Exasperated, Anil looked away, then back again. "You were right there, and you didn't do a thing to stop him!"

Something snapped inside the normally calm and controlled Leland. Leland seized Anil by the front of his homespun, red tunic, hauled him off the ground, and slammed him against the side of a hut. Rogue strands of hair that had pulled loose from Leland's braid hung in the Guild Master's face, giving him a wild look. "Listen to me! Keeper Anshu Falconpointe should still be lying invalid on the floor! He should not have been able to stand! Nobody outside the Red Demon Clan knew that they could heal themselves that fast! Tell me how I should have known that he would heal himself quickly enough to take her that same night! Tell me how I should have known that he would even want her! You were right there just as I was! Tell me why you didn't do a damn thing to stop him!"

Anil set his jaw stubbornly and eyed Leland. Green light flashed at his forehead, and before Leland could move Anil threw the blonde man away to crash into the side of another hut and fall to the ground. Anil dropped easily into a fighting stance and drew the single-edged, slightly curved sword on his back.

Leland stood, swung his braid over his shoulder, and unsheathed his rapier. This Anil Windermere had royally enraged him, a feat not easy to accomplish. "Tell me what I should have done to stop him," he growled.

Anil pointed at Leland with the sword and raised it above his head; Leland rose into the air, his feet dangling a meter above the ground. Leland gagged, eyes widening, and his hands went to his throat. The rapier fell to stick in the ground point-down.

"If you had given her to me then Anshu wouldn't have gotten away with her!" Anil shouted accusingly. "She belongs to me!"

"Miss—Azumi—is—her—own—person!" Leland choked out. Did this boy not understand? He could not own people, but Leland was certain that he knew that already. Anil shot a remark back at Leland, but he couldn't hear it above the sound of rushing blood that filled his ears. Colors danced before his eyes. His head spun like a Dragon feather caught in a whirlwind. He fought a losing battle against the invisible grip.

"Guild Master!" a voice cried. Anil glanced back over his shoulder to see the other three Abaharaki sprinting toward him.

"You put him down!" Silas ordered, slowing to a stop. In reply, Anil lifted the sword higher, and Leland rose.

Sapir growled. "Get 'em, Riyad. Ya got my permission. It's an order. I'll take th' consequences."

"Yes, Journeyman." Riyad's eyes narrowed, and the tattoo glowed red on his forehead. Anil felt the same invisible touch settle around his own neck, tightening slowly. He slapped it away, but in doing so he lost his grip on Leland. The Guild Master dropped from the air, and Silas lunged forward to catch him.

"If you want to fight the Guild Master, use that sword!" Riyad cried. "If you want to use that-" meaning the innate, almost magic abilities of the Dragons, Delphi, and Demons "-then fight me!"

Anil whirled on Riyad. A green light flashed again, roaring toward Riyad. Riyad raised his hands, palms outward, fingers spread wide, and the fire splattered and dissipated like green water splashed on a pane of glass.

"This won't get Miss Azumi back!" Riyad shouted. "Stop it! If anyone can find her, it'll be the Guild Master!"

Anil seemed to consider this. He lowered his sword, at least.

Riyad turned. "Is the Guild Master all right, Journeyman?" he asked Silas, who knelt at Leland's side. Silas scanned Leland.

"I think so. He's passed out, but that's just from lack of air. He's still breathing. See, he's coming around." Silas helped Leland sit up. "Are you all right, sir?"

Leland massaged his neck and slowly worked his head around in a circle. "Yes, Silas, thank you."

Sapir growled and brandished her claws. "If ya try ta hurt Leland one more time, I'll knock ya all th' way ta th' Mystic Moon! Ya can't fly back from there!"

"Enough of this! Sapir!" Leland interrupted, taking Silas's offered hand to pull himself to his feet. "We don't have the time. We have to get Riyad to the Blue Siren Clan. Come—Riyad, Sapir. Leave his Highness be." Leland pushed his fingers back through his hair, smoothing the flyaways back down into his usual, dignified self.

"I'm coming with you!" Anil told him stubbornly.

"Why should we take you with us after you just attacked the Guild Master?" Riyad exclaimed, only just remembering to add in "Highness."

"You need me," Anil growled, his face dark. "I am the king of the White Dragon Clan."

Leland looked to Silas. "What do you think?" he asked. Silas shrugged.

"If we're going to have to pry Miss Azumi out of the Red Demon Clan, then it can't hurt to have another sword with us," Silas admitted. "However-" and Silas fixed Anil with a stern look "-I don't like his attitude one bit. I don't know if we can trust him."

Leland sighed and gripped his braid. _Before all this, I would have forgiven him and brought him along with us. But now that Keeper Anshu has returned? Keeper Anshu is so manipulative, I don't know if I can trust anyone I don't know. It's too hard to figure out what he's planning. Father once told me that you can't see Keeper Anshu's fingerprints on the trap until you've already been caught in it._

"No," Leland said flatly. "To take you with us would be for the Abaharaki to cast our lot in with the Black Dragon Clan. We choose only the side of the Wing Goddess. No."

"You can't stop me from coming!" Anil retorted.

"No, we cannot." Leland plucked his rapier from the ground and sheathed it. "We can't stop you from going to the Blue Siren Clan. But if you go, you won't be traveling with us. Highness."

* * *

Sapir glared up at the sky. "Geez! Isn't he getting' tired by now!"

"He's a Dragon, Sapir," Leland reminded her, toying with the reigns in his hands. "His stamina is far better than ours. He's probably laughing at us for going so slowly." Sapir elbowed him.

"I know that!"

The snow-covered ground passed them lazily and monotonously by. Sapir sighed.

"How 'bout if I tell Riyad ta go get his bow an' shoot him down?"

"You can't do that, Sapir," Leland told her.

"Aw, c'mon. Ya know th' kid won't be able ta do it, but it'd sure be fun ta see him try."

"No, Sapir." Sapir sniffed.

"Ya got no sense of humor anymore!" She climbed back on top of the wagon with a meow and stretched out on her back.

_Don't worry, Miss Azumi,_ Leland thought, _we haven't abandoned you. The fastest way to get you back will be to get Riyad to the Blue Siren Clan. I'm coming for you, I promise._

Anil flew above them, silent, watching, trailing white feathers in his wake.

* * *

Adamanthea, the capital of the Blue Siren Clan, was a strangely quiet city. Most of the Delphi's conversations took place mentally. Delicate carvings and statues decorated almost the entire surface of every pale, blue-gray marble building. Delphi passed the Abaharaki with baskets or other objects floating along in the air behind them. A man walked down the center of the street with his arms outstretched, the palms of his hands up before him. The snow lifted from the ground and rooftops to float overhead. Later he would deposit it outside of the city where it would not inconvenience anyone.

They left the wagon on the outskirts of Adamanthea—none of the Delphi would bother it—and continued into the city on foot. Riyad led the way, at first nostalgic as he passed through the places of his childhood. Gradually, Riyad fell silent, his face growing more nervous with each corner that they turned. Delphi stopped and stared as he passed. After all, they all waited for him. The Choosing started with the offspring of the last Keeper. The Choosing would commence with the son of Shen Heatherwilde.

When Riyad finally turned the slightly bluish color that Delphi become when ill or injured, Leland stopped and drew Riyad to the side. "Are you all right?" he asked, placing his hands on his apprentice's shoulders, leaning down slightly to put his eyes on the same level. Riyad shook his head.

"I think I'm going to throw up, Guild Master."

"Calm down, Riyad. Talk to me."

Riyad nodded, and his color returned a bit to normal. "What if I make it, Guild Master? The Keeper of the Siren is such a big job. So many people depending on you. I'm scared."

"The Keeper is not alone," Leland reminded him. "You'd have your family and advisors and your Temporary to help you. And the Abaharaki would always hold fondly the memory of one of our own who became a Keeper. Who knows but that you may not even be Chosen. You can do this, Riyad. I know you can. You're a better leader than you know."

Riyad took a deep breath. "All right."

The roads all met in a large town square, large enough for the great Armour of the Sirens to stand in. Word of Riyad's arrival had already spread throughout Adamanthea, and crowds of Delphi had already gathered. Riyad squared his shoulders and tried to stand tall. He was the son of Shen Heatherwilde.

The Delphi parted before the Mahavada, and when Riyad spied a black-haired woman dressed in mourning white he forgot all about his dignity. "Mama!" He dropped his bow and ran to her, yanking the knot out of his quiver's strap and letting it fall to the stone-paved ground behind him, arrows scattering everywhere. Leland knelt slowly to retrieve them, still looking up at the pair.

"Riyad!" The woman hugged him to her when he reached her. "Riyad, my son, you're back!"

"I'm sorry, Mama! I should have been here!"

"You would be dead too, Riyad." Lady Heatherwilde pulled back as Leland approached, Riyad's quiver tucked under his arm. "Thank you for taking care of my son, Guild Master Blackhawk."

"I'd hardly call it taking care of him. Teaching him." Leland bowed to her. "He's a fine boy. We'll all miss him if he becomes Keeper." He cleared his throat and looked away, as if embarrassed.

An old, wizened Delphi with gray hair approached them. Riyad recognized him as his late father's Temporary. A good man—if Riyad became Keeper, he knew he could depend on this Delphi's help. "Master Riyad." The Temporary held out his hand.

Riyad stared at the Token of the Siren, that glittering, blue ring. No time for tearful reunions and recovery from his journey, it seemed. I have to do it.

As he took the Token the crowds moved back, making room, clearing the area just in case the Armour did Choose Riyad to Keep it.

"You know what to do?" Lady Heatherwilde asked. Riyad nodded. His family had prepared him for this moment all his life. He just never thought that it would come, not so soon. "Good luck." His mother kissed him and backed away. Leland patted him on the shoulder and joined the other Mahavada and Anil.

Riyad closed his fist around the Token. Oh, by the gods, he thought he might faint from nervousness. He took a deep breath and tried to force himself to calm down, with little success. At least it did not depend on his talent or skill. How high he threw the Token would make no difference as to whether or not Naiades Chose him. If he was right for the job, he was right, and nothing he could do would change it now.

Sapir crossed her fingers, hopping from one foot to the other. "Come on, Riyad!"

_Here it goes._

Riyad hurled the Token up to the sky as hard as he could. It spun in the air and caught the sun, sparkling. At the top of his lungs he shouted, "Descend to me, Naiades!"

There came a frightening pause and deathly silence as the Token hung in the air.

A beam of blue light shot down from the sky with the Token at its center. A gigantic, blue-armored figure materialized, down on one knee, its head bowed as though paying homage. As the light faded its cloak settled down to fan out on the ground behind it.

Riyad dropped to his hands and knees, weeping with relief as a roar of applause and cheering came up from the gathered Delphi.

"He did it!" Sapir cried, jumping up and down and throwing up her arms. "He did it!" She jumped on Leland and hugged him. The Guild Master staggered under the force of her enthusiasm, but he beamed, as proud as if Riyad were his own son. Silas applauded loudly, grinning wide. Anil stared ahead, seeming lost inside his own thoughts, perhaps dreaming of the day that he might become a Keeper himself.

Riyad lifted his head to view the great Armour as the voice of the Temporary, amplified psychically, echoed for all of the Blue Siren Clan to hear. "Naiades has Chosen! The Oracle of Gaea, the Keeper of the Siren, Riyad Heatherwilde!"


	14. Chapter 14: Inverse

**Keeper of the Dragon  
Chapter 14 - Inverse**

"My lord." An Erinyes bowed, holding a folded parchment bearing two wax seals out before him. "A message for you."

"Thank you." The man accepted it and examined the seals—one black, one white, both stamped with the image of a winged lizard. A mutual letter from the two Dragon Clans. So, Anil had taken his advice and gone home after all? This message certainly demanded attention, then; the two Clans could never cooperate in anything whatsoever. A quilting bee that included a Black Dragon woman and a White Dragon woman would end in bloodshed at the very least. He slid his thumb under the seals, breaking them, and unfolded the parchment. His eyes went wide as he read; the color drained from his face. "Oh, Teiring," he whispered.

"Sir?" The messenger asked. The man dropped the parchment and turned, sprinting for the door. "Sir!"

"Damn you," the man muttered to himself as he ran. "Damn you. I know that you did it. How could you do something like this? Even with _your_ twisted sense of right and wrong!"

* * *

Azumi tugged uncomfortably at the mandarin collar of her gilt-edged, black dress. They had given her Demon clothes to wear and burned her old ones. They wanted to sever her ties, perhaps, to destroy her hope. Break her. They would not find it so difficult a task. She felt practically naked with these short sleeves and the slit up to her thigh. She felt out of place, because none of the Demon women she saw similarly dressed looked uncomfortable at all. They had not even let her keep her cloak, though it was as much winter in the Red Demon Clan as the rest of Gaea. After seeing the scratches that Azumi had dealt herself, Anshu had cut off her fingernails, and when a servant woman had tied her hair up in a stick with a black tassel that dangled from the end, he had taken it away. Probably a wise choice. She had found that Anshu was as much known across Gaea, though much more in his own Clan, for his foresight as for his presumed lack of sanity. An odd combination. Was he really all that mad? Or was he just very clever?

Now, several days after her arrival in the Red Demon Clan, Anshu took her to the heart of Aesir, to the large courtyard outside the Shrine of the Demon. The buildings around them blocked the wind, and under the cloudless sky the sun's relentless battering actually made Azumi sweat. Anshu, in his long sleeves, certainly did not look hot. Neither did Kiran, who had joined them. They had different colored eyes, but the two looked so much alike that Azumi had no doubt but that they were father and son. She still had not come to terms with that yet. If Anshu was Kiran's father, was there a Lady Falconpointe? Kiran had not mentioned anything about his mother, and neither had Anshu spoken of a wife. (Though Azumi supposed that, biologically, Anshu didn't have to have a wife in order to have a child.) Maybe she had died? Or left him, or something like that? Or maybe Kiran was illegitimate? But fathers did not usually claim bastard children.

"Soon, Azumi Kuronari, you will meet the one that you belong with," Anshu told her. Azumi stared at her shoes. Despite her apparent lack of will to escape, Anshu kept his presence a constant reminder with a hand on the back of her neck.

_The one I belong with? He must mean that Brisingamen guy._

Anshu squinted into the sun, lifting a hand to shield his pale eyes. "Here he comes."

"I think you'll find him quite a surprise, Father." Kiran grinned. "He's changed too."

"I certainly hope he has. It would be quite unbecoming for the Black Dragon King to suck his thumb," Anshu told him. Kiran snickered.

"He did used to do that, didn't he? And he wet his bed once or twice, as I recall."

"I wouldn't bring that up unless you don't mind that I remember you doing the exact same thing," Anshu laughed. Kiran turned red to his ears and looked away, coughing.

Azumi heard a single pair of footsteps. So, this man was so powerful that he needed no bodyguard or anything? Oh, boy.

Anshu looked down at Azumi. "Smile for your new Master."

The footsteps stopped, and a smooth, male voice spoke. "Keeper Anshu, it is wonderful to see you again."

Anshu bowed slightly to the man. The Demons had only two laws: 1. Don't get caught. 2. If you do get caught, fight like hell and you can probably save your ass—recorded with that exact wording—and a general disregard to others, two attitudes nonconductive to developing a formal greeting. They had adopted a bow from the Dragon Clans simply because it did not involve touching anyone else—an action that, in the Red Demon Clan, could often lead to injury or even death, except among family members or close friends, who counted as family. For all their ruthlessness, the Demons put surprising value on the family unit.

Anshu laughed. "Well, well, you've certainly grown up. You only came to, what, my waist the last time I saw you, didn't you?"

"He was no taller than me, and I was not even half your size," Kiran reminded him.

"Is that her?" The other man asked, a touch of excitement in his voice.

"It is. We'll call her a gift, to ensure that our Tribes' alliance still holds," Anshu answered. "I present to you the Wing Goddess, Azumi Kuronari." Anshu pushed Azumi forward.

Azumi intended to keep her eyes on the ground, but the man took her chin in his hand and lifted her face, forcing her to look up at him.

He reminded her immediately of an older Anil. He had the same tanned skin, the same jaw line, the same shaped eyes. He had long, white hair, though he was not old. He wore fine white cloth, in sharp contrast to Anil's simple dress of homespun fabric and soft leather, with a gold-hilted sword at his belt. His eyes were a strange, metallic gold. And while Anil felt to her like a tightly coiled spring, this man was clearly much calmer and cooler. He definitely had more self-control, more diplomacy. The exact opposite of Anil.

Azumi felt nothing at seeing this man that Anshu had kidnapped her for—no apprehension, no relief. Nothing at all.

"My lady Wing Goddess." He released her, took her hand, and kissed it. So he was the charming one, eh? "I am Brisingamen Windermere of the Black Dragon Clan."

_So, this is Anil's older brother? The Oracle sure got them switched. This guy seems like he should be the ruler of the_ White _Dragon Clan. They're the good guys, right?_

Azumi stared at him dully. "Hi." Yet another face. Yet another person going to push her to do something she just could not, to be something she just could not. She didn't really care anymore. She had stopped caring about a lot of things, she realized. Back to studying her shoes.

"You're certain that she's the Wing Goddess?" Brisingamen asked.

"What else could she be?" Anshu replied. "Listen to her name, it's not a Gaean name. Where else could she have come from but the Mystic Moon?" Kiran nodded his agreement.

"All right, then."

Azumi felt something cold and hard pressed around her neck. She heard a click, and the light tinkling of metal. She reached up and touched a finger-wide band of cold steel. She followed it around her neck and found a key lock; next to it a chain attached to a loop. A leash. He's put me on a leash. Well, it makes sense, I guess. I'm not really any better than a pet dog.

"What's this for?" Anshu asked with defensiveness in his voice, pulling the chain out of Brisingamen's hands and holding it up for inspection. "Afraid she'll run away on you?"

"No. Look at her eyes. She doesn't have it in her to escape." Brisingamen tucked a silver-colored key away in a pocket on the inside of his white cloak. "I'm more worried that my brother will come for her. If she's tied down with steel he can't take her away, can he? And the gods only know what he would do with her. Forgive me for resorting to such measures, Lady Wing Goddess, but it deeply concerns me to think of you in my little brother Anil's hands. I promise you that this will not last."

"He can't stand up to a Keeper." Anshu fingered the pommel of the Token of the Demon. "If he comes, we can fight him off. Now you only need the Token of the Dragon."

"I've already taken care of that." Brisingamen reached into the collar of his tunic and withdrew a sparkling, ruby pendant on a fine, black cord.

Anshu chuckled. "You did turn out to be a sneaky little bastard, didn't you? I should have known that you'd done it when the Dragon Clans sent out those letters to the Keepers that someone had stolen the Token of the Dragon. I taught you well."

"He always did cheat at our games," Kiran laughed. Brisingamen glared at him good-naturedly.

"I did not!"

"Oh, did you ever!"

"I beg to argue-"

"Well, get the hell on with it!" Anshu interrupted. "Reminisce later!"

Brisingamen cleared his throat. "Lady Wing Goddess." He tugged gently at the chain, pulling Azumi closer to him. "You descended to Gaea to choose the next Keeper of the Dragon. I ask you to do that now."

"I can't." Azumi kicked at the ground. "I don't know who it is."

There came a pause. Azumi imagined an expression of confusion or consideration on Brisingamen's face. Not irritation, that seemed more like Anil. "Of course you can," he soothed, smoothing her hair as he might pet a dog. It felt good, though. No wonder dogs liked it so much. "You have the power to choose whomever you wish as the next Keeper." And he wanted her to choose him. He would be a fool if he did not. Well, why not? He was certainly a lot nicer than Anil.

Eyes glued to the ground, Azumi shrugged. "Sure. Go ahead."

Brisingamen smiled, though Azumi did not see. "I am forever in your debt, Lady Wing Goddess."

"Don't mention it."

Brisingamen passed the chain to Anshu, who watched in interest, an arm around his son's shoulders. Brisingamen turned his back to the Keeper, the Temporary, and the goddess, and lifted the Token of the Dragon off over his head. A gust of wind forced its way past the building around them, sending his snowy hair and cloak billowing out behind him.

Confidently, Brisingamen hurled the pendant into the air. "Descend to me, Escaflowne!" he called. The pendant rose, the cord serpentine in the air.

Anshu straightened expectantly.

The pendant reached its apex.

Kiran shifted positions nervously.

The pendant fell.

Brisingamen's golden eyes widened in disbelief.

The pendant clattered to the ground.

Kiran looked up to Anshu and asked a question softly. Anshu shook his head.

Brisingamen scooped up the Token of the Dragon and hung it around his neck, hiding it in his collar again. "Perhaps, Lady Wing Goddess, we will try again later, yes?" he asked, disappointment in his eyes, though he tried to hide it.

Hmm. That hadn't worked. How was she supposed to choose the Keeper of the Dragon, then, anyway?

"Yeah. Later."


	15. Chapter 15: Keeper of the Erinyes

**Keeper of the Dragon  
Chapter 15 - Keeper of the Erinyes**

Azumi sat on the floor by the window, her chin in her hand. The moon and the Mystic Moon cast their silver-blue light bright inside. A week ago, she would have spent hours gazing up at them. She would have found them beautiful. Not now. She didn't care anymore. She didn't care about anything anymore. Apathetic, she drifted along like a broken branch down a river. They wanted her to be a goddess! That should have been her first hint to run! She couldn't do it, no, she wasn't good enough. One person couldn't change the world alone. Especially not her. Why did they keep pushing her like this? Did they want to push her too far? It wouldn't take much.

The chain lay along the floor like a dead thing, the links throwing back the moonlight. As of yet, it did not tie her down to anything. She didn't care about that, either. She wasn't any better than that. A bowl of soup, long ago gone cold, sat unnoticed on a low table in the corner. She just didn't feel like eating anymore. Her hair hung loose about her shoulders, hiding her face. She had come to take some comfort in that. If her hair was over her eyes, nobody could see her, and then they would take no notice of her, right?

The door slid open softly, and Brisingamen entered, clicking the lock behind him. Leaving his boots by the door, he tossed his cloak onto the table and moved to kneel next to Azumi. "You aren't eating, Lady Wing Goddess," he observed, his voice and face worried. Azumi shrugged.

"I'm not hungry."

He squeezed her shoulder comfortingly. "Do you feel all right? This must have been a trying day for you, and Keeper Anshu isn't always the most courteous of hosts. We don't want you to catch ill."

"Sure. I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

They sat in silence a moment, gazing up at the moon. Brisingamen ran the chain lazily through his fingers. He had probably come to tie her down for the night. "Why did you not Choose me earlier today, Lady Wing Goddess?" he asked, his voice sounding sad.

"I tried. I guess it didn't work." Azumi sighed. Did he want her to try again now? She didn't know what to do! Obviously she couldn't just point and say 'All right, you're the new Keeper of the Dragon', so what did she have to do? Arrange the fifteen Heavenly Crystals on the Altar of Power during a full solar eclipse, do a dance, and chant the Ancient Rede of Choosing while standing on her head? "I don't know how."

Brisingamen's eyes narrowed. "In the Black Dragon Clan we punish liars." Apparently he had not liked her answer, then? Tough. What did he want her to tell him? The truth got her nowhere, but so would a lie.

His fist closed around the chain. "Perhaps you need a little convincing, Lady Wing Goddess?"

"No, I-"

Azumi cut off as Brisingamen jerked sharply on the chain, pulling her away from the window and onto the futon on the floor. He slid the shutter across the window, blocking out most of the moonlight. Brisingamen was a dark figure above her as he untied the neat knot that tied his tunic closed at his throat. The air in the room had somehow gone oppressively thick. Somehow, he managed to put malice even in plucking out the laces of his tunic. The white cord stood out bright against his skin as it hissed slowly and deliberately through agile fingers.

Azumi squeezed her eyes shut and hid her face so that she couldn't see his actions anymore. "What are you going to do to me?" she whispered. Hours seemed to pass with only the sound of rustling cloth and her own fearful breathing, and then silence, and then the ghost-whisper of the cord sliding through his fingers again. She felt his hands at her neck, wrapping the cord once around her throat, sharp fingernails scratching her skin. She swallowed hard as it tightened, eyes still shut tight against the darkness. _I don't want to see. Ignorance is bliss. Ignorance is bliss. Please be merciful and hurry up and kill me._

"I will show you, Lady Angel Grey, who holds the power here," he growled. Planting a hand on her face to press her head against the floor, he snapped the cord away, burning a line around her neck as it whipped free. Azumi bit her lip.

_Is this the beginning of some sort of torture session?_

Now he hovered over her, leaning forward with a hand on either side of her, so close that she could feel his breath on her face. She dared to open her eyes just for a moment. He had white tattoos swirling down his arms, just like Anil's blue. Oh, Azumi had thought wrong, she had never been so wrong. The Oracle was right. He hadn't gotten the brothers switched. She opened her mouth to scream, and Brisingamen punched her in the stomach. Her breath left her in a rush, and her shriek came out as a weak whimper.

"Not a sound out of you, Lady Wing Goddess. Nothing at all," he warned. Already she trembled at his touch. Good. This was almost too easy. He slid his fingers into the opening of her collar and tore.

* * *

Azumi lay on her side, huddled with her knees drawn up to her chest, weeping silently. She had forgotten herself and wept out loud, earlier. Brisingamen had made her regret that. He had not left her, no, not yet. If she bothered to look up she could just make him out, a darkness that blotted out the rest of the darkness. She did not need to look up to know that he had not left. She could feel his menacing, powerful presence hammering her into the floor even when he turned away from her, when he didn't touch her at all.

She heard a faint, splashing sound, as of something pouring. She felt his hand on her shoulder and stiffened. _Not again, oh, please, not again._ Her heart pounded loud in her ears, her breath came short and quick, and what little energy she had remaining drained from her limbs. She wanted to vomit. She couldn't look at him. Maybe if she ignored him he would go away and let her die in peace. But if that were so, she would have stopped bleeding a long time ago. Only one thing would make him go away, and try as she might, she could not do it.

He slid his hand over her shoulder to move up and down her naked back slowly, his nails and the calluses on his palm agitating the already-raw wounds he had given her. It hurt her and he knew it. That was the entire reason that he performed a gesture usually meant to comfort. It hurt her. The metal collar hurt her; it had bruised her neck, and she could hardly swallow.

"Drink, Lady Wing Goddess." He put something cold in her hand. Azumi obligingly lifted it to her lips. If she hesitated, he would hurt her again, more than it already hurt to swallow. It was just water—fresh, cool water. Come to think of it, Anshu _had_ brought her a pitcher long before Brisingamen had come. It tasted good, but she could taste him on the rim of the glass. He had taken a drink before her.

When Azumi finished, Brisingamen took the glass away. She dared to open her eyes, now. She must have had an expression of relief on her face, because his strange, golden eyes glittered menacingly. "Oh, I'm not done with you yet, Lady Wing Goddess," he told her. Ah. Bait her into relief, then start all over again. "No, far from it. That is, unless you've decided to change your mind. You may answer. _Quietly._"

"I tried to," Azumi whispered, her voice hoarse, wavering with her fright. She had already given him that answer twice. She could give no other, but he had not accepted it before, and Azumi knew he would reject it a third time. She wished that she could lie, but that would only result in him hurting her again for deciding not to choose him, or him expecting to be chosen and then hurting her for not doing it. She wished she knew how to choose! What did she have to _do?_

Azumi began to cry again as Brisingamen pushed her onto her back. His hair fell about her face like a curtain. His warm skin seared hers that had gone ice-cold. His mouth pressed over hers, his teeth cut her lips, she tasted more blood. His sharp nails raked down her arms, tearing her soft, weak skin easily. His weight pressing down on her pushed the breath from her lungs. She screamed silently as he forced himself into her again.

Neither heard the voice that sang softly, or saw the crouching figure that now dissolved behind them.

He approached the back door to the paper-and-wood building quietly; the only sound he made was the tap of soft sandals on hard stone, or the rustle of white and green cloth. His clear, green eyes narrowed now in concentration, but his was a face more used to a smile. He crouched in the shadows to tie back his wide sleeves, then continued as carefully as before.

He slid open the outermost door and slipped in, leaving it ajar. He could not afford the time to open it again upon his retreat. He made his way quickly down the hallway. His silver-white ponytail fell over his shoulder; he flicked it back. He knew where to go. He had come here before, though not in person.

Carefully, he tested the edge of the door before him, a soft tug with his fingertips. Locked. All right, then. He reached into his fold-over tunic and withdrew a green fan. The surprise factor gained by bursting in might make it more worthwhile than sneaking, anyway.

Brisingamen's head jerked up as the door to the room crumpled inward, and the green-and-white-clad man darted inside. He was quick; Brisingamen had just the time to exclaim "What the hell?" before the man planted a foot on Brisingamen's shoulder and shoved, pushing Brisingamen off of Azumi. The man caught the pendant around Brisingamen's neck, the only thing the Dragon had not taken off, and touched the tip of the folded fan to the cord. With a snap and a flash of green light the cord parted, burned. The man shoved it in his tunic along with the fan and scooped up Azumi. Before Brisingamen could move the man sprinted out the door, the steel chain Azumi wore dragging and clattering on the polished floor behind him. Brisingamen growled and snatched up his clothes.

Once outside, the man skidded to a stop, whirling to face the door. "He'll be coming," he breathed. He jogged to set Azumi down a distance away and then planted himself in front of the doorway.

Azumi half-watched as green light burst from the doorway, charring the frame. The man snapped the fan open, holding it up before his face, and the fire deflected upward, swirling to the heavens in a pillar and illuminating the sky before dissolving. Brisingamen followed the fire out, skin covered in streaks and smudges of blood that had not come from his own veins, still bare-chested and shoeless, but now armed and clearly outraged. He lifted his sword as sharp as flame, elbows wide, the blade nearly perpendicular with the ground behind him, and lunged at the lithe man, cutting a powerful strike down. The man ducked away nimbly, and as Brisingamen whirled for a horizontal slash the man closed the fan and slapped the single-edged blade up, wielding the fan as another might a short sword or a dagger. He darted in under Brisingamen's guard and punched the Dragon in the stomach. As Brisingamen wheezed and doubled over the man snapped the fan open and brought the widest edge down on Brisingamen's sword. Like a heated knife through ice it clove the blade in two with a metallic scrape and a gout of green flame. The man had to kneel to complete the cut, and Brisingamen brought the pommel of his broken sword around, aimed at the man's head. The man ducked all the way down to his hands and the balls of his feet—Brisingamen's intended blow missed, swinging too high—and he spun, bringing his leg up to catch the back of Brisingamen's head with his heel. But the Dragon rolled forward with the kick, making it useless, and sprang to his feet. Brisingamen tossed the useless hilt aside and raised his fists in front of his face. The man stood and closed the fan. He assumed no stance, but waited in a light and easy posture.

Brisingamen rose up on his feet; the man tensed, spreading his arms a bit. Brisingamen took a step forward, almost within arm's reach of the man. The man met Brisingamen's golden gaze, green eyes hardening. Brisingamen lunged, flattening his hand and bringing it around, aimed at the man's throat. The man sidestepped out of the way, deflecting Brisingamen's attack neatly away with his hand, and smote the Dragon in the temple with the closed fan. Brisingamen stumbled forward and the man crouched again, swinging a foot around to kick Brisingamen's legs out from beneath him. Brisingamen fell flat on his stomach, unconscious, his head bleeding.

The man turned his back on Brisingamen and opened the fan, this time more deliberately, religiously. He hurled it into the air. "Descend to me, Teiring!" he called.

A pillar of green light exploded from the fan, overpowering the moonlight and washing everything green, lighting up the night. When it dissolved it left behind a gigantic, emerald-colored Armor. Its hands ended in sharp talons, and, instead of a cloak, a crest of brass-colored feathers fountained from its head, flowing all the way down to brush the ground. It appeared down on one knee, as though waiting.

The man climbed onto Teiring, and at his touch the chest opened with an organic crack. He stepped inside, and it sealed itself shut again.

Inside, the controls parted themselves from the control chamber's walls and latched around the man's arms, legs, and chest. "Teiring! I give you my blood!" Needles sprouted and jabbed into the man's veins, and the ancient pact made at the beginning of time was fulfilled. The man turned, and Teiring turned. The man and Teiring were one.

Teiring bent, and as gently as the man could manage, lifted Azumi from the ground. The Armour's legs snapped together as it jumped into the sky. It angled sharply out, streaking away from Aesir.

The man waited until the lights of the Demon city had disappeared behind them. Teiring landed, kneeling down again, flattening its taloned hands into a platform close to its body with Azumi laying upon them. Teiring's chest opened, and the man walked out onto its hands, kneeling next to Azumi.

Careful hands moved over Azumi, examining her wounds. She bled, yes, she needed help, but fingernails could not cut deeply enough to endanger a life without treatment. They would reach aid soon enough to outrun infection.

Azumi shrank away from his touch. In her groggy vision, she saw a man with long, whitish hair. How should she know the difference? His hair covered his ears, and he pushed it back to show her the points.

"Miss Azumi." The man took her hand carefully in his—red, her wrist had begun to swell, and she flinched when he touched it. "Miss Azumi, please forgive me for my late arrival." She stared at him with half-lidded eyes, not seeming to register him anymore. She did not speak. "I admit that I did nothing when Keeper Anshu took you. I've come to realize he's a better person than I thought, you see. You may not believe me, but it's true. I did not think that he would harm you. When he gave you to Brisingamen, I came as quickly as I could." A cold, winter wind blew, and Azumi shivered, drawing her knees up to her chest. He would have to get her wrapped up in Teiring's hands before she froze. The Armour gave off heat—it was, after all, alive. "You can trust me, Miss Azumi," he assured her gently. "My name is Niram Mountaincreek. I am the Keeper of the Erinyes, the one who brought you here. I'm taking you back to your friends, to the Abaharaki." She gave him no response. "I'm afraid I can't heal you." Niram's face, the tone of his voice, was apologetic. "The Erinyes's power lies only in illusions. But I will do what I can to help you."

Niram cupped Azumi's face in his warm hands and sang to her softly, in that strange language that he had used to call her to Gaea. When he took his hands away she had fallen peacefully asleep. "If I had known this would happen, I would have left you on your world." He stood. "Forgive me, Miss Azumi." Back inside Teiring. Up.


	16. Chapter 16: Aftermath

**Keeper of the Dragon  
Chapter 16 – Aftermath**

Naiades amplified the mental eyes of the Keeper of the Siren, making him the most far-seeing diviner in his Tribe. For reasons still unknown even to the Delphi, here, in the Cavern of Eurynome, the psychic eye could see the farthest and the clearest. The Oracle performed all of his divinations here, and so Riyad, in the blue robes of his office that his father and all the Oracles before him had worn, positioned the three-legged stool in the Cavern of Eurynome. The Abaharaki—Leland, Silas, and Sapir—and Anil waited in the Cavern with him.

Riyad seated himself on the stool and pulled a laurel leaf from the pouch that he always carried with him. Part of the price paid for such power included the loss of energy from a divination that could cause even the strongest, healthiest Delphi to lose consciousness in the very least without the laurel leaves. The other part of the payment was that a Delphi could never remember what he had seen or heard afterward. During Riyad's apprenticeship, Leland had become accustomed to reciting Riyad's words back to him.

Leland stood close to Riyad, ready to catch him in case he should black out despite the laurel leaves. The Oracle could not afford to injure himself by fainting off his stool and landing on his head. Riyad could not afford to fail here. He had the best chance of finding the Wing Goddess.

As he chewed the leaf he closed his eyes, blocking out the physical world, and concentrated on the colors that filled his vision. He closed his eyes, and was aware of the tattoo glowing red on his forehead. He concentrated on Azumi. He forced his way through the colors, searching. There. He spoke. "I see it," Riyad whispered. The colors filled him. "Azumi Kuronari, who has descended to Gaea from the Mystic Moon, the Wing Goddess whom the gods bow down to."

Leland breathed a sigh of relief. "She is the Wing Goddess."

Riyad continued, taking no notice of the Guild Master's comment. His mind elsewhere, his ears did not hear Leland. "The Wing Goddess falls. One has taken her from the one who will weigh her down further. Her wings are broken. She cannot fly alone. Catch her. Her wings are broken, and she falls. I can see it."

The colors swirled in on themselves, converging into a single tiny pinprick of white on a field of black. It exploded violently, flinging white across his vision with a roaring silence. Riyad swayed, and Leland caught his shoulders to steady him on the stool. Riyad opened his eyes.

"What did I say, Guild Master?" he asked. Leland repeated Riyad's words back to him. Riyad smiled. "So she is the Wing Goddess. Oh, good. I'll bet that will give Miss Azumi a little more confidence in herself."

"Once we find her," Silas reminded him.

"I didn't hear anything 'bout where she is," Sapir noted.

"But I _did_ say that someone was helping her." Riyad reached for another laurel leaf. "I'll try to find her again."

Footsteps at the mouth of the cave drew their attention. All heads turned. The mists in the air curled away, and into the flickering torchlight staggered Niram, carrying the still-sleeping Azumi. "Please take the goddess," he begged wearily, dropping to his knees. "I came as quickly as I could."

Leland reached the Keeper of the Erinyes first, the others close behind him. He took Azumi carefully from Niram, concern in his glittering eyes. "Miss Azumi." He shook her shoulder gently. "Miss Azumi?"

"She won't wake yet," Niram told them. "I put her to sleep. The poor thing was terrified."

"What the hell happened to the Wing Goddess?" Anil demanded, rising on his knees, reaching over his shoulder for the hilt of his sword. "If she dies I'll have your head, Keeper!"

Niram held up a hand to stave away Anil. "I will explain everything I know."

Leland ran a finger along the steel collar around Azumi's neck. "What is this?"

"A safeguard against one who might take her back," Niram answered with a pointed glance at Anil. "Fortunately, it was not bound to anything but Miss Azumi when I arrived." Niram touched the tip of the Token of the Erinyes to the lock on the collar, and with a burst of green light and a grating as of tearing metal the band split. Silas pulled it off—carefully, for the freshly-cut sides had an edge to them—and hurled it away as far as he could. "I will tell you everything that I know tomorrow." Niram sat back on his heels, tucking the Token of the Erinyes away in his tunic. "Please, let me rest first."

"Rest?" Anil exploded.

"Excuse me, Highness." Silas shoved Anil unnecessarily out of the way to bend over Azumi.

Sapir scampered away from the others and knelt next to the discarded collar and chain, her hands on her knees, peering intently at it. "I've seen one o' these things before," she called back over her shoulder. "They put 'em on th' animal-people in th' Black Dragon Clan when they make 'em slaves. It breaks their spirits, ya know?"

"Well, _something's_ definitely broken." Silas examined Azumi's red and swelling wrist. "By Teiring, poor thing. What happened to her? Did she fall down a set of stairs? Did someone push her off a roof?" Niram shook his head slowly in response, closing his eyes. "No, I suppose we couldn't be that lucky."

"Lucky?" Leland stared at him incredulously. "How would that be lucky?"

"If she had fallen off a roof, it would mean that Miss Azumi's injuries were an accident," Silas explained. "Personally, Guild Master, I'm positive that this was all intentional. Follow me, please. I can take care of her. We should consider ourselves fortunate to have her back so soon, and alive." Silas tossed his hair back out of his face and strode briskly from the Cavern of Eurynome, Leland following with Azumi in his arms.

Riyad helped Niram to his feet. "You are a welcome guest, Keeper, for as long as you wish to stay."

"Thank you, Keeper." Niram leaned against Riyad for support as they exited the cave, leaving Sapir alone.

In the entryway, Sapir gave the chain on the floor a kick. "I don't know who ya are," she growled, "but I'll remember what ya smell like, don't ya forget that!"

Azumi watched Silas with dull, glassy eyes as he went about his work. Had she possessed at the moment the mind frame to think of such things, she would have admitted that he was very good at what he did, albeit a bit disorganized. Every single cabinet door stood open. Silas cursed as he tripped over one. A fire blazed at one wall, making the air hot for him, but comfortable for Azumi, who had no clothes. He had her lying on a table with a sheet over her; he turned her onto her stomach to begin work on her back before he noticed that the effects of Niram's chant had worn off.

"Miss Azumi, thank the gods. I was beginning to wonder if you'd ever wake up." Silas had no idea what time of day (or night, for that matter) it was, for the small room had no windows. "We've all been so worried about you these past few days you've been gone. This will hurt." He wet a puff of cotton with the contents of a blue, glass bottle and dabbed it across the scrapes and bruises on Azumi's back. It did sting, but not enough to register in her clouded mind. It did not come near the pain she had felt before.

Silas stopped, and knelt down to put his eyes on the same level as Azumi's. "Will you tell me who did this to you, Miss Azumi?"

She couldn't tell him. She couldn't make any noise at all. If she did, he would come and hurt her again. She hadn't meant to cry out loud, but she had, and he had punished her. No noise, or those invisible hands that had settled around her neck would constrict and squeeze the life from her.

"Please, Miss Azumi."

No no no no noise.

When Silas realized that he would receive no answer, he sat back on his heels in resignation. "It's all right. I can understand if you don't want to talk about it yet. Just remember that we're all here when you're ready, all right? I'm the Abaharaki Guild Healer. I don't just fix people's bodies; I'm here to heal their minds and hearts as well. You can talk to me whenever you need." No response. He stood and jerked open the door. The others, minus the exhausted Niram, waited in the hallway, sitting on the floor or leaning against the wall.

Sapir looked up first. "Are ya done with her yet?" she asked hopefully. Silas shook his head.

"Not yet, but I didn't want to keep you all waiting too long." He stood with one hand on the doorframe, the other dangling at his side casually, all his weight on one foot. "She'll be fine—well, in body, at least. None of her injuries were life-threatening. It's a good thing that Keeper Niram got to her when he did, though. Teiring only knows what would be left of her if he had come a day later."

"What happened to her?" Leland asked. Silas bit his lip and scanned their worried faces. He took Leland aside and explained the situation softly. A look of horror crossed Leland's face.

"Are you certain?"

"Absolutely, Guild Master, I know what to look for. And I don't want to have to be the one to tell the others. I'll leave that up to you."

"Don't want to have to tell us? What is it?" Anil jumped to his feet, smacking a fist into his open palm. "Never mind what it is! I saw the blood! I'll kill that bastard! I'll kill Anshu!"

"We don't know that Anshu did it to her," Silas told him. "You might want to be certain of who did before you run off and try to kill a Keeper, _Highness._"

"Th' lil' missy could probably tell ya," Sapir suggested. Silas shook his head.

"No, Miss Azumi won't talk."

"What do you mean, she won't talk?" Leland asked. "Surely she's not trying to _protect-?_"

"I mean it literally, Guild Master. Miss Azumi either cannot or will not speak words," Silas answered.

"Well, why not?" Anil demanded.

"Please, Highness, she's very frightened," Silas argued. "Don't push her too far!"

"Keeper Niram knows," Riyad said, ever trying to smooth things over. "He'll tell us when he wakes up."

"How can he sleep at a time like this?" Anil growled.

"He flew Teiring all the way from the Red Demon Clan! As fast as he could, all in one night!" Silas exclaimed. "Do you have any idea how much blood that takes?" Good gods, this young king had nearly reached the limits of Silas's temper, and Silas was not particularly known for having a long fuse! White Dragon King or not, Anil had better watch his mouth!

Silas nodded back over his shoulder. "I need to get back to Miss Azumi. I just wanted you to know that she's all right."

Sapir jumped up, her cheery voice and chiming bells in sharp contrast and out-of-place with the mood. "We're comin'!"

"You can't all fit in the room," Silas replied. "The Guild Master can come. Everyone else, go to sleep. That's an order."

Leland rose, still graceful despite his weariness, and followed Silas into the room, closing the door softly behind him. The Erinyes took up his bottle and cotton again, and Leland moved a four-legged stool over to sit at Azumi's head.

"We've all been very worried about you, Miss Azumi." Leland reached out to take Azumi's hand. When his fingers touched hers, she jerked away with a small gasp like a frightened animal; she stiffened, her eyes widened. Leland let his arm drop and instead gripped his braid, as if to remind himself that it was still there. "What's wrong?" he asked, trying to make his voice gentle. He was not used to this sort of thing. "You remember me, Guild Master Leland Blackhawk. You know me."

Silas drew the sheet up over Azumi's shoulders and uncovered her legs.

"Will you tell me who hurt you, Miss Azumi?" Leland asked. "Please. You know that you can trust me. You know that I want to help you." Absolutely not. No. She could not speak. "You can trust me. Please, Miss Azumi. Did Keeper Anshu do this to you? Just nod if he did."

He hadn't told her that she couldn't do that.

Slowly, Azumi shook her head. Leland sighed. "It's a start. I don't know if you've ever felt comfortable talking to me, but I know you tried. Please, Miss Azumi, we need to know who hurt you."

"I wonder." Silas didn't look up from his work. "Maybe our culprit ordered her not to scream, or to make any noise. It happens a lot."

"Did he?" Leland asked. "Did he order you to keep quiet?" A slight nod. "Did you try to call for someone anyway?" Nod. "What happened then? Ah-" Leland started to rephrase the question so that Azumi could answer yes or no, but she lifted her bandaged wrist, then pushed herself up on her elbow to let Leland see four angry, red lines trailing down her side.

"Down, Miss Azumi." Silas murmured, pressing on her back. "Rest." She lay down.

"You know that he can't hurt you anymore, Miss Azumi. We'll protect you. You can talk to us."

Azumi shook her head. Leland pinched his brow between thumb and forefingers, as though fighting off a headache.

"This is my fault. If I hadn't gotten myself so worked up about Keeper Anshu-"

"Oh, no you don't." Silas shook a blood-stained puff of cotton at Leland. "Don't start blaming yourself. Even little Riyad can't see everything, and you've had a lot to think about, too. How could you have saved her? Maybe if Keeper Anshu hadn't kidnapped her, but nobody knew that the Demons could heal themselves that fast, everyone keeps away from them too much. If you'd have gone after her, we could be wandering across Gaea right now in completely the wrong direction, and the Blue Siren Clan wouldn't have a Keeper. Miss Azumi probably would have died, then. I've seen this before, before I joined the Abaharaki. They think that they're not worth any better, or they deserve it for some reason."

Leland looked to Azumi questioningly. Nod. "Miss Azumi." He reached out to her again. He didn't touch her, just held out his hand, palm up. "I want to help you, Miss Azumi." Oh, by Scherazade, why couldn't she see how important she was? Why did she just stare at him?

Azumi slowly pushed herself into a sitting position, drawing her knees to her chest and pulling the sheet tightly around her. Silas took a step back, folding his arms patiently. Azumi watched Leland with suspicious eyes, like a hunted animal cornered, as though she had never seen him before. Leland waited. They could not afford to lose the trust of the Wing Goddess now. He could wait.

But Leland surprised even himself. Azumi's eyes changed—she looked at him like a frightened, lost child who had finally found her family, and when she worked a small hand free from the sheet and slipped it into his, his heart shattered. He pulled her close as she broke down crying.

_He peered at the shivering ball of blue fur that the Abaharaki had brought in. He poked the little cat-girl, and she lifted her head._

_"What's wrong?" he asked. "Why're you crying?"_

_"Bad men came!" The child wailed. "They killed my mama and my papa!"_

_Leland sat back on his heels. "A bad man killed my parents, too."_

_"I want my mama!" The cat-girl cried. He wanted her to stop crying. The hurt would go away some, eventually. He hugged the little cat-girl the way he remembered his own mother hugging him when he fell down the guild-home stairs and hurt his knee. He wanted to make it all better._

Sitting on the edge of the table, Leland held Azumi so tightly that he feared he might hurt her and rocked her like a child, whispering soothingly. Azumi's silently shed tears soaked hot through his tunic. He rested his chin on her head, and his own tears forced their way from eyes squeezed tightly shut against them to fall onto her tangled hair. Oh, gods, he didn't want her to cry, goddesses shouldn't cry, she shouldn't have to cry. "Hush, Miss Azumi, it's all right. Don't cry," he told her, though his own tears fell freely. "Don't cry. I promise I won't let anyone take you away and hurt you ever again. I promise, Miss Azumi."

_"Don't cry! There's good people here! They're nice to me! They'll be nice to you, too!"_

By the gods, how could someone even bring himself to harm something so helpless in the first place? She was so tiny, so cold. He could feel her shaking as she clung to him. He could feel every swollen bruise on her back, count all her ribs. "She's so small, Silas." She clutched at handfuls of his tunic and shifted to bury her face in his shoulder. He turned to rest his cheek against the top of her head. "She's so small." Why didn't she stop crying? Scherazade, why couldn't he make her stop crying?

He felt something wet beneath his hand, he smelled copper. He opened his eyes and saw his fingers painted with a sticky red; one of Azumi's freshly closed wounds had come open, smearing his hand with blood. It was so easy, to hurt without even trying or meaning to, but so very hard to heal or comfort.

Something cold settled in the pit of his stomach and shot out icy tendrils. "Silas," he said softly. "Silas."

"Don't worry, Guild Master, I've got it. It's not bleeding much." Silas pulled the sheet off Azumi's shoulder.

"That's not it." The chill feeling that had spread through Leland made him tighten his hold on Azumi even more. "What have we been trying to do, Silas? This is no goddess. She can't handle this. She's just a mortal, like us. And we've tried to make her carry all of Gaea on her back. _We_ broke her wings. Riyad was wrong. This is no goddess, Silas. Oh, Scherazade, she's so small." And he couldn't speak any more.


	17. Chapter 17: Brother

**Keeper of the Dragon  
Chapter 17 - Brother**

Anshu smirked as he strode through the early morning chill. Time to wake up Azumi Kuronari. And Brisingamen, too. He had heard the Dragon sneak to Azumi's room, though Brisingamen had probably meant to remain undetected. Anshu had not heard him leave, at least not before he himself had fallen asleep. Oh, he would have fun today.

He came to the door to Azumi's room and frowned. It lay, crumpled, on the floor, holes rent in the paper. Property damage was not fun. Well. Anshu had nothing against seduction, but it became a bit suspicious when it involved tearing down doors. Few women found ripping holes in walls attractive. Well, he had known a few, but Azumi did not seem like the type. He stepped around the door and scanned the room. This was not right. For one thing, neither king nor goddess was present, and Anshu rose earlier in the morning than most. And even if they had done what he suspected—and it was very likely, Brisingamen had grown into quite a charming and attractive young man—and even if it had been Azumi's first time, far too much blood stained the futon and the blanket.

Anshu stooped to pick up a piece of gold-edged, black cloth from the floor—Azumi's dress, torn. His face darkened further as he quickly put two and two together. "Brisingamen, you bastard." He spun sharply and stormed out the door. "When I get my hands on you, boy, I swear to Alseides you'll scream like the day you were born." He banged through the hallways, opening and slamming doors with such force that the entire building shook. As pathetic as Azumi was, she had still managed to find herself a certain small niche in his heart. Finally he located Brisingamen outside, sprawled on the ground wearing only his trousers, his white hair matted with blood and fanned out across the stones.

Anshu woke Brisingamen with a foot to his ribs none too gently. "Get up! Get the hell up right now!" Brisingamen groaned and sat up slowly, pressing a hand to his head. Anshu thrust the ruined dress at him. "Start talking, and by Alseides you'd better have a good explanation!" Brisingamen blinked groggily, either muddled from his head wound or a very good actor. Anshu assumed the latter. Dragons were resilient beings.

"It's the Lady Wing Goddess's dress," Brisingamen said slowly.

"Yes, it is," Anshu replied with a sarcastically sweet tone. "And unless I've misinterpreted the mess you left behind—dear me, I do believe you've broken your gift. And you've lost it, too." He hurled the dress to the ground. "The gods damn you, Brisingamen, what the hell were you thinking?" Anshu screamed, his teeth bared, fists clenched, shaking with rage.

"The Wing Goddess's purpose," Brisingamen began. Anshu interrupted him.

"Purpose? You mean her Choice? Her Choice? You thought that you could frighten her into Choosing you? I taught you to force a choice, but not like that! And under my own roof, too!"

"But-" Brisingamen argued.

"The rest of Gaea may call me mad, boy, I know it, but believe me, I am _quite_ sane!"

"Keeper-"

"Shut up and listen to me!" Anshu snapped. "I turned you over my knee more than once before I fell in the Pool, don't think I won't punish you now, White Dragon King or not!"

Anshu's ranting awakened Kiran that morning. How he had missed the sound of his father's voice! He threw on a black, silk robe and hurried out the door barefoot, the braid he wore for sleep swinging over his shoulder. Just like old times! He wondered what poor minion had aroused Anshu's wrath so early in the morning. He wondered what would remain of that poor minion when he reached the confrontation. He did not hear the minion trying to defend itself. Probably speechless with fear by now. Just like old times—no one crossed Anshu. At least, no one crossed Anshu and lived long enough to repeat the offense. Kiran laughed at those memories. Oh, it was good to have his father back!

He did not quite anticipate what he found—Anshu screaming at none other than Brisingamen Windermere. What had the Dragon done? This would certainly prove more interesting than any minion. Kiran leaned against a wooden post to watch. Just like old times.

Brisingamen stood slowly. Clearly, that head injury pained him. "What does it matter to you?" Brisingamen muttered. "You're a Demon."

"That has nothing to do with it!" Anshu shot back.

Oh, pooh, he had come in too late. What had Brisingamen done to get Anshu so riled up?

"What does it matter to me?" Anshu made a grasping gesture, as if restraining himself from leaping forward and tearing Brisingamen's throat out. "What does it matter to me? Where the hell do you think Kiran came from?"

Kiran perked up. Hmm, something about himself? Apparently they had not noticed his presence yet.

Brisingamen pointed an accusing finger at Anshu. "You have no room to lecture me, then! You're no better!"

Anshu slashed his hand in a wild, negating motion. "You mindless idiot, you haven't figured it out by now? Do you really still think that Kiran is my son?"

"You told me-" Brisingamen started.

"Am I really old enough to be his father?" Anshu argued. "Use your head for once, dammit! He's not my son, he's my brother!"

Kiran straightened abruptly, as though stabbed in the back, his eyes going wide. _Ohgodsohgodsohgodsohgodsohgods…_

Anshu unfastened the golden chain from his neck and toyed with it in his hands as he advanced on Brisingamen. "Kiran was born because someone decided to have a little fun with my mother. She was wounded, and she couldn't fight him back. My father was several years dead. Nobody would help her. I tried to help her, but I was ill, and I was too small, and he just threw me away. Now, who paid for his night of pleasure?" Anshu rose up on his toes, glaring the taller Black Dragon king directly in the face. "Not him. Perhaps you think that it was my mother, then? No. She died giving birth to Kiran." Anshu backed away and slapped himself in the chest. "It was me! I cut the cord and watched her die! I named him! I raised him! Me, Brisingamen, me! The gods help me, I love him, but sometimes I can't help but wonder what my life would be like now if he had never been born!" Anshu's hand caught Brisingamen around the neck, squeezing, choking him. His eyes narrowed to menacing slits. "Do you have any idea what the hell you've done?" he screamed.

Kiran's knees buckled under him, and he sat down suddenly with a thud that snapped Anshu's head around. "Ah," Anshu hissed, spying the wide-eyed Temporary. The sound aroused something in Kiran to action, to run. He scrambled away.

Anshu made a choking noise and looked back to Brisingamen. "I swear to the gods, boy, if you take this too far one more time, I'll kill you myself and let Anil be the Keeper of the Dragon by default!" He shoved the Dragon away and sprinted after Kiran. Brisingamen slumped to the ground with relief, a hand rising to his neck.

"Kiran!" Anshu called. "Kiran, stop!" Kiran looked back over his shoulder; wings sprouted from his shoulders and he leapt into the air. Anshu tossed off his tunic, leaving it in the street, and continued his pursuit, shooting after Kiran in a shower of glittering scales. He could not let his little brother run out on him now.

He had stayed by his mother's side the entire agonizing time, squeezing her hand in his, talking to her, trying to distract her. They could not afford a midwife, but she had assured him that she did not need one. She had done this once before, after all. Anshu wondered if he had caused his mother this much pain when she had given birth to him, as he knelt on the floor of the shabby, one-room, run-down house in Nidhogg. He wondered if his father had held her hand like this. They did not have his father anymore.

His mother screamed, and her hand tightened painfully around Anshu's. He didn't mind, if it helped her. He wanted to take some of the pain away from her. She relaxed her grip, now. The room went quiet, then Anshu heard a tiny wailing. He looked to his mother expectantly. She knew what to do, right? So did he—she had taught him, just in case—but he had no desire to do it.

"Mother." He shook her shoulder. "Mother." She did not respond. Why did she not move? He pressed his fingers to her neck. Nothing.

Anshu sat back on his heels in disbelief. Dead! She couldn't be! But the newborn babe continued to scream, and there she lay, doing nothing about it, her chest unmoving.

He could not let himself cry. If he started, he might never stop. He took the thin, golden chain from his mother's neck, the only thing of value his family owned, and fastened it around his own. She had thrown a blanket over her knees so that he would not have to watch the birth. Now he drew one end up over her head, covering her face, and pulled out his dagger. As quickly as he could he cut through the umbilical cord and arranged the blanket back to cover his mother's feet.

He stared at the crying infant in his hands—red, ugly, he didn't even want to think about what covered it. Anshu had a brother. Well, a half-brother.

He hated the child instantly. This little urchin had killed his mother! How was he supposed to take care of it? He couldn't raise a child!

He'd kill it. Better for the both of them if it died now. In a few steps Anshu crossed the room to a bucket of water by the door. He'd drown it. He freed one hand to move the lid off the bucket.

But it was not free. Anshu glared at the infant that had the gall to latch onto one of his fingers with a tiny hand. Its little fingers barely made it all the way around his own. He realized that the baby had ceased its wailing.

He couldn't do it. Somehow, he couldn't make himself do it.

He shook his finger loose and, cradling his brother in one arm, poured the water out into a tub instead and cleaned the blood and fluids from the child's body. He found another blanket, wrapped the baby in it, and took him outside to sit on the rickety porch. The room inside, with his dead mother on the floor, was too stifling. Anshu held his brother awkwardly at first, the little head in the crook of his elbow.

"I don't know how to take care of you," he told the child softly, "but I'll do my best. And you've got to do your best to stay alive, all right? That way neither of us will be alone.

"You need a name." He smoothed the baby's wispy, near-white hair. "I'll call you Kiran. That was my father's name. I think that Mother would have liked it if you were named Kiran. You're all that I've got left of Mother now, you know. Father had blue eyes, like me. You've got brown eyes, like Mother, but that's all right. I'll bet you'll look a lot like her when you get older, especially if you let your hair grow out long. That's good. I don't know where your father is or who he is, and I hope you never meet him. He doesn't deserve you. All right, Kiran?" Anshu kissed his brother's forehead.

Anshu had the disadvantage—he did not know where they were going. When Kiran abruptly dropped back to the ground and disappeared into a house, Anshu overshot it. By the time he reached the door, Kiran had locked it.

"Kiran!" Gripping the golden chain, Anshu pounded on the door. "Kiran!" He could break the flimsy thing, but that would get him nowhere.

Kiran pressed his back against the door, his eyes wide in shock and utter disbelief. Anshu's words echoed in his head. _He's not my son, he's my brother!_ How did a mistake like _that_ ever come to pass?

"Kiran!" Anshu begged.

He had worked dozens of different jobs, none that paid enough to live decently on. He could have made much more living by his sword—or his dagger, for he had no sword—but that life was too dangerous for Kiran. Anshu did whatever he had to; he washed dishes and scrubbed floors with his little brother tied to his back in a makeshift sling. He stole. He had even killed on several desperate occasions.

And then the Keeper of the Demon had died, and Anshu—like all of age thirteen and older—was required to journey to Aesir to try his luck. What a pathetic figure he had made—dirty, emaciated, but carrying a healthy two-year-old, asleep, little head resting on his shoulder, as he approached the Token of the Demon. And he had thrown the Token up into the air and called out four words that had changed both their lives, permanently.

Anshu stopped. "Are you there, Kiran?" Of course he was there, he could see the Temporary's shadow through the paper door. "I know you're listening to me." He pressed his hands flat against the door, golden chain would around his fingers.

"I know all of this must be hard for you to hear. I know you're wondering why I've always called you my son, if you're my brother. Kiran, I was eleven years old, suddenly all alone with a newborn child to take care of. I'd just watched my mother die. I was afraid, and the more I loved you the more I feared. And when you grew older, you started asking questions that I wasn't ready to answer. It was just easier if you thought that I was your father. I always meant to tell you when you were older." Kiran said nothing, but Anshu could imagine his thoughts. _So I wasn't wanted._

"When you were first born, I wanted to kill you. I hated you," Anshu continued. "After all, Mother had just died because of you. I was stuck taking care of you. If it weren't for you, I could have just run off and become a mercenary, or joined the Abaharaki. Lived for myself. Lived easy. But you made me fall in love with you, and I think it was caring for you that turned me into the kind of person that Alseides wanted. Turned me into the Keeper. Kiran, did you know that with that long hair, you look exactly like Mother? Are you even listening to me, Kiran? By Alseides, Kiran, don't shut me out now."

There came silence, then a soft click. Anshu slid the door open.


	18. Chapter 18: What to Do With Azumi Kurona...

**Keeper of the Dragon  
Chapter 18 - What to Do With Azumi Kuronari?**

Azumi did not quite realize that she had woken until she heard the voices talking. She thought back to her arrival in Adamanthea. She remembered crying, crying for a long time while Leland patiently held her like a child and tried to calm her. She remembered him carrying her to bed once she had finally calmed down. She remembered him holding her hand, promising that he would not leave her, until she fell asleep. He had not let go yet. Had he really sat up all night with her? She kept her eyes closed and listened. She wanted to go back to sleep, anyway. She hated the waking world. She hated Brisingamen. She hated herself. She hated a lot of things these days.

"Leland! Th' way you're missin' sleep, you're gonna fall over one o' these days!" Sapir, by the distinctive dialect, and the high voice, and the chiming of bells.

"Not so loud, Kitty. You'll wake Miss Azumi."

Sapir dropped her voice. "You go on ta bed. I'll watch over th' lil' missy for awhile."

"No, it's all right, Sapir. I'd like to stay here a bit longer."

"You've been up all night! Why d'ya want ta stay longer?"

"I don't quite know." Azumi felt him brushing back stray strands of hair that had caught on her eyelashes. "I want to be sure that she's safe."

"Ya got two Keepers, a city full o' Delphi, an' _me_. She can't get much safer. Now, gimmie a _good_ answer." Sapir's voice held underlying tones of mischief.

"I don't want her to be frightened when she wakes up," Leland answered. "You should have seen her last night, Sapir, she was shaking like a leaf. She wouldn't even let go of me until I promised that I wouldn't leave her, poor thing. Silas just barely managed to sneak out. She didn't want to be alone."

"Hmm. You're getting' closer." Sapir snickered. "You're so easy ta read, Leland."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't tell me ya can't figure yourself out when _I_ can! Good grief!"

"You're getting at something, aren't you? Why am I answering all these questions? I'm the Guild Master here! Just spill it and save us both some of your good grief."

"Nah. I've got plenty o' good grief ta go around. I'll leave you two alone, though. Keeper Niram's awake. That's what I came ta tell ya. He can probably fill in th' blank spots for us. But if ya don't wanna leave, I'll explain it ta him."

"Thank you."

Like it or not, Azumi's body wanted to awaken. She could hold her eyes closed no longer.

"Ah, look who's awake!" Leland's cheerful tone sounded a bit forced as he sat up straighter, one hand gripping his braid as usual. Again Azumi wondered where he had picked up that habit. "Did you sleep well, Miss Azumi?" Leland asked. She nodded. "Good." Leland released her hand. Azumi held on. If she let go he would go away, and she did not want him to go away yet. Perhaps he sensed that, because his eyes grew concerned, and he squeezed her hand again.

Speaking of that, where was Silas? He had told her that he would not leave, either. At least, she thought he had. A cloud still hung over the last night's events.

Sapir headed for the door. No! Sapir couldn't leave either! How could Azumi tell her that without talking? No! Sapir opened the door!

Azumi's face became panicked, and Leland looked up. "I think she wants you to stay," he told Sapir.

"She does, eh?" Sapir folded her arms. "Ya flatter me, Lil' Missy, but I've got a lot o' stuff ta do."

Leland sat back in his chair. "Oh, come now, Kitty."

"Tell ya what." Sapir leaned against the doorway. "How about if I bring Keeper Niram an' everyone else in here, an' we'll all figure out what happened to ya. Then you'll have a whole lot o' people with ya. How's that?" Azumi nodded. Yes, lots of people. "All right. I'll come back, then." Sapir disappeared down the hallway.

"Now that you're awake, Miss Azumi." Leland leaned back, reaching for something on the nightstand next to her bed. "Riyad brought this in for you just this morning." He straightened and showed her a porcelain vase carefully etched with the images of birds in flight. "It's the first flower of spring. Winter has ended. I'd like to think that it's a sign. After death comes rebirth, you know?"

_He killed the first flower of spring for me._ Azumi reached up to brush her fingers over the lily's soft, velvety, blue petals.

"They don't grow this color anywhere but in the Blue Siren Clan," Leland continued. When Azumi took her hand away, he replaced the vase on the nightstand. "Do you feel any better at all?" he asked. Azumi nodded. Leland looked as though he wanted to say more, but he fell silent.

Azumi's eyes wandered from his face to the walls to the ceiling. The Delphi were definitely an artistic people; the vase matched the room in decoration. She marveled at the amount of detail put into each bird. She had never seen marble such a color, either, that pale, bluish-gray.

Sapir threw the door open and bounded in, the two Keepers, Silas, and Anil right behind. "Miss Azumi!" Riyad's smiling face somehow lit up the room. "You look so much better!" He stooped to give her a careful hug, which she returned with one arm. Azumi offered up a slight smile, then frowned at Riyad's blue robes of office, fingering the silky fabric to draw his attention to it.

"That's right, you weren't here." Leland tossed his braid over his shoulder. "Riyad is the new Keeper of the Siren." Riyad grinned shyly and showed Azumi the Token of the Siren upon his finger.

_Congratulations, Riyad,_ Azumi thought, _I knew you could do it._

Silas dragged in chairs of wood light in both color and weight and arranged them in a semicircle around Azumi's bedside. The very refreshed-looking Niram, his wrists completely healed and his hair now loose around his shoulders, perched cross-legged on his chair in what seemed to Azumi as a very un-Keeper-like manner, though he sat with his back straight and his shoulders squared. Sapir forewent her chair entirely and curled up at the foot of Azumi's bed. Silas shrugged and propped his feet up upon Sapir's empty chair. Anil rejected sitting completely and leaned against the wall, his arms folded. A dark cloud always seemed to hang over the young man's head.

Niram folded his hands in his lap. "I'll do my best to answer your questions," he began, casting his eyes around the circle.

"Who did it?" Anil demanded immediately. Niram looked away from Anil, then back again. "Who hurt her?"

"Brisingamen Windermere," Niram answered apologetically. "Your brother."

"I know who he is!" Anil snapped. Niram held up a hand to silence him.

"But there are others here who may not."

"He's the Black Dragon King, I'm the White Dragon King, how much more obvious can it get?" Anil muttered.

"Peace," Riyad interjected quietly. "Any knowledge will only help us here."

"Why would he wanna hurt her?" Sapir asked. "He'd need her alive, and as much in one piece as possible."

"He wanted to force her to Choose him." Niram shook his head. "But that choice cannot be forced."

"Where was Keeper Anshu during all this?" Riyad questioned. "I admit that his character is questionable, but surely he didn't allow Brisingamen to-"

"Allow it?" Leland interrupted. "Anshu? Allow it? He probably held her down!"

_You're all wrong,_ Azumi thought bitterly. _Stop arguing about me. I'm not important. This Athalan _is.

Niram opened his mouth to reply, but Silas spoke first. "I just don't get it," Silas mused. "Even if he managed to make Miss Azumi Choose him, he wouldn't have the Token of the Dragon, so eventually everyone would find out what he'd done anyway. Why go to all that trouble?"

"Because he does have the Token!" Riyad went pale. "I'd forgotten! A message went out from the Dragon Tribes to all the Keepers!" He twisted his fingers together. "Someone stole the Token of the Dragon!"

"Brisingamen," Anil growled. "He has it now."

"He does not!" Niram crowed. All eyes fell on the Keeper. He reached into his tunic and withdrew the Token of the Dragon, held it up for all to see. "I took it back, you see."

"Thank the gods!" Riyad breathed.

"I'm afraid I had to break the chain to get it off him." Niram stood, knotting the platinum chain back together, and took a step toward Azumi. "You should keep it, Miss Azumi. The Keeper of the Dragon will need it someday soon, so it's safest with you. Will you take it?" Azumi nodded, and he slipped the pendant over her head.

"I'll find you a new chain," Riyad promised.

Such a sweet boy. Azumi worked her injured hand, the hand not held by Leland, out from the blankets to grip the Token of the Dragon. It felt strangely heavy for a stone its size, and somehow warm, almost as though it were alive. Its surface felt smoother than the finest glass beneath her fingers, almost wet with its slickness. It nearly glowed. Azumi looked back and forth between Riyad and Niram, and wondered if the other Tokens were like this. She wished she could ask.

"What do we do now, Guild Master?" Silas asked. Leland tugged at his braid again.

"Well, I suppose we go back to the guild-home until Miss Azumi makes her choice," he answered.

"I'm going with you," Anil said as Niram returned to his seat.

"You will not," Leland told him. Anil glowered, but he fell silent.

Riyad twisted the blue ring on his finger. "You should stay here, Guild Master, all of you. You too, Keeper Niram. We'll need you soon. I saw it." Leland nodded.

"All right, we'll stay."

"And you should arm Miss Azumi," Riyad added.

Leland frowned. "What exactly did you see?"

Riyad paused, then fluttered his hands. "The sun, the moon, and silver wings."


	19. Chapter 19: Keeper of the Griffin

**Keeper of the Dragon  
Chapter 19 - Keeper of the Griffin**

Anshu ignored the clapping of a horse's hooves on hard, dry stone behind him and continued to stare up, one hand shielding his pale eyes from the sun. Above him, a falcon wheeled in the sky. It folded its wings in and dove.

"Keeper."

Anshu turned in the saddle, arranging his expression to let his annoyance show plainly. Brisingamen hesitated, halting farther away than he had probably intended. He looked utterly ridiculous, Anshu thought, with that white bandage wound around his head.

"Ah, it's the young fool come to pay me a visit," Anshu remarked dryly. He knew well that his time in the Pool of the Nereids had set everyone formerly younger than him at a good five or so years his senior, but he just could not stop thinking of Brisingamen as the wild, energetic, unruly child that he had left behind. Brisingamen stiffened, and his horse, sensing its master's tension, backed away several steps. Brisingamen had guessed, quite correctly, that Anshu was still furious with him. True, the Red Demon Clan had no actual law against rape, but the attack upon his mother had left Anshu with very strong sentiments against it for the rest of his life. Brisingamen had no way of knowing that, but he would not go unpunished. They had no enumerated law, but Anshu was the Keeper of the Demon, and in his Clan his orders were law enough. Brisingamen would not go unpunished. Back when Brisingamen still played with toy blocks, wet his bed, and slept with his thumb in his mouth, Anshu had commanded a high amount of respect from his Clan, indeed, even from the other Keepers, (except for one, but _he_ was just a stubborn old man as unmoving in his ways as a mountain, anyway, and he would criticize the way the sun climbed into the sky in the morning) and Anshu saw no reason for that to change now. How the Black Dragon king had strayed during Anshu's absence! If Brisingamen even sneezed the wrong way, Anshu swore to himself, he would turn the golden-eyed man over his knee and beat him until he couldn't sit down for a month! Anshu smirked at that mental image. It would certainly put Brisingamen in his place faster than any whipping or caning. Humiliation made a far better tool than pain. Brisingamen, too, paled slightly beneath that tan. Perhaps he still remembered the paddlings he had received from Anshu those years ago.

Anshu recomposed his face into a parental frown. Brisingamen shifted nervously, recognizing that look. Oh, yes, he _did_ remember those paddlings. Anshu tugged at the heavy, brown leather glove that he wore on one hand. "What do you want?" he snapped. Brisingamen began to speak, but Anshu interrupted him. "Come here! I can't hear you!" Brisingamen hesitated, and then walked his horse closer. Anshu radiated anger, and Brisingamen knew it. The Dragon's act—no, his _crime,_ that fit better—still infuriated Anshu beyond words.

But Brisingamen held his head high nonetheless. Anshu had tempered the Black Dragon king's pride like the finest sword in his youth. It would not break easily. But, still, even the finest sword would eventually dull and break.

"I ask your aid, Keeper," Brisingamen said finally. Anshu laughed mockingly, and Brisingamen flinched.

"You want her back, don't you?" Anshu asked slyly. "I give you the Wing Goddess, you break her and lose her, and now you want me to help you get her back."

Brisingamen regarded him stiffly. "I erred."

"Damn right, you did." Brisingamen did not regret his actions, Anshu could hear it in his voice. That would change soon, yes, it would. Anshu knew that Brisingamen had more sense than he tried to make Anshu believe. "Frankly, you little whelp," Anshu continued, "I'm sick of pulling you out of the thunderstorms that you keep flying into."

Disappointment clouded Brisingamen's eyes. Hmm. Interesting. He thought that Anshu would not help him. More, he _cared._ Interesting.

When Brisingamen was small, Anshu had predicted—correctly—that when Brisingamen's little brother was born—and there would be one, there always was since the beginning of time—the Oracle would divine that he would be the king of the White Dragon clan, not Brisingamen. Anshu's influence as a Keeper had the older brother spending a good deal of his childhood in the Red Demon Clan, and not just because the company of another child was good for little Kiran. Brisingamen had come to see Anshu as a paternal figure, making him easier to control, something that Anshu knew would prove beneficial later. Like now. Although, the plan did have its side effects. He still felt something of a fatherly pride toward Brisingamen, but not nearly as much as for Kiran. If the Dragon did anything else not to Anshu's liking, Anshu would switch sides in the conflict faster than anyone could say "turncoat". But for now, he would help Brisingamen, one more time.

The falcon winged overhead. Anshu arched a pale eyebrow and glanced up. Brisingamen followed his gaze, and the falcon dropped a dead sparrow into the surprised and astonished Dragon's lap.

Anshu lifted his arm to let the falcon perch on his gloved hand and pulled the belled jesses over its head. "You'd better not screw up again, boy," he warned, winding the line that tied him to the falcon. Brisingamen plucked the dead bird out of his lap gingerly, a humorous look of disgust on his face.

"I understand, Keeper."

Anshu nodded once, then nudged his horse into motion. Brisingamen followed curiously, still holding the sparrow, the wind whipping his white cloak out behind him.

Another man sat astride a horse a distance away. Even off the battlefield, he wore most of a suit of well-worn but well cared for gray armor. Anshu had tried for years to convince the man of the uselessness of armor, with the success only of the man removing several of the less important pieces. He kept his gray hair and beard both neatly trimmed. His manner screamed military. Where Anshu possessed a certain grace and agility, this man was stocky and heavy-muscled, allowing him to swing that double-edged sword that he wore. He nodded a greeting to Anshu, the smallest acknowledgment that he could make without violating protocol, and pulled on his own line to bring the borrowed falcon fluttering down. Anshu knew that this man had never approved of his appointment to Keeper, considering him too young, too common. But then, in this man's mind, whoever understood the Demons, anyway? And, in Anshu's mind, who the hell cared what Divyendu thought, anyway?

Brisingamen's jaw dropped when he spied the brightly polished, silver dagger in a loop next to the man's sword. Anshu slapped Brisingamen with his horse's reigns. "Shut your mouth. You look like a fish."

Divyendu hooded his falcon. "You keep excellent mews, Anshu."

"Hmph. You know damn well that none of these birds were even eggs yet the last time I went falconing." Anshu beckoned Brisingamen closer. "Whelp, meet the Keeper of the Griffin." Brisingamen reached out the proper hand, remembered that he still held a dead sparrow in it, and changed his mind. He settled for a sitting bow.

"It is an honor to meet you, Keeper," Brisingamen said instead.

"I expect you to eat that sparrow later," Anshu remarked to him quietly. "Raw. Feathers and all."

Brisingamen swallowed hard. "You're joking."

"I'll let you know. Until the time comes, convince me that you don't need punishment."

"I still don't understand why you called me all the way out here to help this foolish young man," Divyendu said, contempt in his voice. Of course, he always had contempt in his voice when he spoke to Anshu. Anshu had stopped paying attention to it. Divyendu was full of himself in the first place. All of his opinions and half the things he said that had basis in fact had to be taken with several blocks of salt.

"This thing has become even bigger than the Keeper of the Dragon, now, haven't you realized that?" Anshu asked Divyendu, making no attempt to hide his irritation. "Gaea has split over Azumi Kuronari Wing Goddess, now that Niram Mountaincreek has thrown in his Clan's lot with the Sirens and the White Dragons. Even if she decides to choose Anil, he'll still need her afterwards, and there we can interfere if it comes to that. Whichever side comes out on top after this will be in power for a very long time, I predict."

"We have to get her back," Brisingamen growled. "We have to make her choose-" Anshu backhanded the Dragon, nearly knocking him from his horse.

"Imbecile! Haven't you learned anything?" Anshu snapped. "You can't force this choice!"

Divyendu stroked his beard coolly. "Fear can be a very powerful tool, Anshu." Dammit, why couldn't he ever use Anshu's title? Anshu had earned it, by Alseides!

"Yes, he already tried that, and for his trouble the bird flew away," Anshu muttered. "Sometimes fear is too powerful. You don't set a tiger's trap to catch a hummingbird."

"I am still very good at bird-catching," Divyendu told him. Anshu gave Divyendu a view of his sharp teeth that did not quite fit a smile.

"And that's why I asked you here. Your Clan will even the odds against us. And this idiot waif needs all the help he can get."

Brisingamen frowned. Anshu made a blatant show of ignoring him. "If we can get Azumi Kuronari back here, I may be able to repair some of the damage that Brisingamen did."

"Oh?" Divyendu asked mockingly. "Did you learn to charm women in the Pool of the Nereids?"

"Hardly." Anshu smoothed the falcon's feathers. "You don't know the Wing Goddess. She's completely blind in life without someone to hold her hand and tell her what to do. She'll listen to any voice that isn't coming out of Brisingamen's mouth."

"This is not necessary," Brisingamen interjected. "I will get her back."

"Oh? First you ask for my help, now you want to get her back by yourself? You don't have the authority to keep changing your mind anymore, boy! If you kept your mouth shut then no one would find out how stupid you are," Anshu told him. "If you try to get within eyeshot of Azumi Kuronari, she'll scream and run to the mountains."

"I believe I understand what you want me to do," Divyendu interrupted. "I can get you your Wing Goddess. But how will my Clan benefit from this?"

"I told you, even after she Chooses, the Keeper of the Dragon will still need the Wing Goddess. Whoever holds the Wing Goddess holds the power here. She's even better a hostage than a Keeper; if she dies, they can't replace her," Anshu explained. Divyendu paused—Anshu was right, and he knew it. Anshu continued smugly. "Make up your mind, old man, are you with me or not?" _Yes, me,_ Anshu thought, _not us, Brisingamen. Me._ Behind him, Brisingamen glowered.

"You need to learn respect for your elders, young man," Divyendu grumbled. "Yes, you have the Gray Griffin Clan."

"Good." Anshu's falcon fluttered its wings impatiently, but Anshu kept a firm grip on it. "So tell me, old man, how will you get into the Blue Siren Clan unnoticed?" Divyendu frowned in irritation. He hated explaining his actions, especially to those younger than him, and he hated it when others doubted him. That was precisely why Anshu had asked the question; he didn't care one bit how Divyendu completed the capture of Azumi Kuronari. He didn't even care much if Divyendu did it at all, or if Anshu had to do it himself. He just wanted to rankle the old Keeper.

"You're lucky that I came prepared for this, Anshu."

_Why_ couldn't the old bastard ever use his title?

Hands on his hips, Anshu's eyebrows lifted in surprise. "I never thought of you as one to keep a harem, Divyendu."

"Harem!" A dagger appeared in the hand of the gold-colored cat-girl. The other one, silver, elbowed her.

"Ya can't attack a Keeper!" the silver exploded. The gold sullenly put her dagger away. Divyendu indicated the silver cat-woman, then the gold.

"Nyx and Phaea Saxony."

"I'm Phaea!" the silver Dryad argued.

"No ya aren't!" the gold snapped. "Stop doin' that! It got old years ago!" The silver cat-woman—Nyx—stuck her tongue out at the gold.

Anshu grinned. "Assassins, huh? You're a little smarter than I thought." He addressed the women. "So, who's the better fighter?" Both pointed to themselves. "That's what I thought."

"Twins," Divyendu explained. "My personal assassins. You'll find none better than them on Gaea."

"Hmm." Anshu looked back and forth between Nyx and Phaea, who had begun to argue loudly about their combat skills. He drew the Token of the Demon and brought it around in a smooth arc aimed to cut open their stomachs. The cat-girls dropped their squabble immediately and reacted as one, jumping back nimbly. Nyx darted forward first, and Anshu allowed her to press her hand against his throat and kick his legs out from under him. As soon as he hit the ground Phaea had him straddled, the point of a dagger held to his neck. Anshu laughed, and Divyendu winced. Divyendu had told Anshu upon more than one occasion that he found the Demon's laugh painfully high and harsh. "They'll do fine, Divyendu, just fine. Now get the hell off of me, woman!"

Phaea stood and studied the blade of her dagger. "Who do ya want us to kill?"

"Not kill this time," Divyendu corrected. "Capture." Nyx pouted, sticking out her bottom lip pitifully.

"There ain't even any blood in that!" she whined.

Anshu dusted himself off. "You're looking for a human girl about this high." He indicated a size with his hand. "Brown hair, brown eyes. She'll look abused-" and he glared at Brisingamen "-so don't hurt her."

"This doesn't sound like much fun," Phaea complained, folding her arms. "No blood? No killin'? Gods! Why d'ya think we didn't join th' Abaharaki?"

"She'll be with the Abaharaki by now," Anshu told them, waving a hand casually. "You can kill them if you like."

Nyx and Phaea looked at each other and grinned.


	20. Chapter 20: Lavender on the Air

**Keeper of the Dragon  
Chapter 20 - Lavender on the Air**

Azumi lost track of the time that she lay in that bed. The Mahavada came and went; Leland came and went. Anil, even, came and went. They brought food that sat untouched on the table until it grew cold and someone took it away again, or Silas came to force it down her throat. She knew she should eat. She knew she was selfish for ignoring their hospitality. She would stop one of these days. It wasn't that she meant to be ungrateful.

Sunlight filtered through the curtains drawn over the window, then moonlight, then sunlight. Silas came to change her bandages and check the progress of her wounds. Riyad came to talk with her cheerfully about nothing in particular. Leland came simply to sit and watch her, a calm, comforting presence. The flowers wilted on the nightstand. Azumi had never known that she could sleep so much. She came to loathe those periods she spent awake. Nobody bothered her while she slept; or, if they did, she never knew it. Her body ached everywhere, she felt dirty everywhere. She could leave all that behind when she slept. She couldn't die, they wouldn't let her die, but this came close. Safely hidden beneath the warm blanket, her face buried in the soft pillow, she could lose herself. Didn't the Greeks refer to sleep as "little death", after all?

Contrary to her previous tendencies, Sapir eased Azumi out of her sanctuary slowly, pulling the blanket off her face. "Lil' Missy? Are ya awake?" Azumi blinked to focus her eyes on the Dryad, then nodded. "C'mon, it's time ta get up." Sapir flung the blanket off all the way; Azumi shivered in the cool air. "Come on!" Azumi swung her legs over the side of the bed. "Out o' that nightdress. Ya don't need it right now." Sapir tossed a fluffy, pastel, yellow towel at Azumi. She wore one herself, her usual blue. "I'll bet ya'd like ta get clean right now, huh?" Azumi nodded, folding her nightdress and wrapping the towel around her. Yes, she wanted to get clean. She wanted to scour every centimeter of her skin until she couldn't feel his hands on her any longer. "C'mon, Lil' Missy!" Sapir caught Azumi's wrist and pulled her along after her. Azumi kept her head bowed, her hair falling in front of her eyes. She could only see black tangles and polished, white marble and her own bare feet.

She heard the creak of hinges as Sapir pushed open a door; warm, humid, floral-scented air flowed over her. Voices conversed, their words blurred by the soothing sound of pouring water. Azumi lifted her head for a moment. Steps formed seats in a depression in the floor the length and width, though not the depth, of a swimming pool. Steam rose from the hot water that poured in from a fountain in the wall shaped like a woman tipping a pitcher. The floor around the pool had grooves cut in it for traction, but it still felt smooth and clean underfoot. A bath house? It reminded Azumi of the hot springs back on Earth.

Sapir yanked Azumi's towel off and threw it over her arm with her own. "Go dunk yourself. I'll get ya in a minute." Azumi made her way to the water carefully; she had no wish to slip on the wet stone. She stuck a foot in the water hesitantly—hot, very hot, the shock prickled her skin. Like a hot tub, but hotter. She eased herself into the steaming water slowly.

Sapir jumped in beside her, landing with such a splash that it sent hot water over Azumi's head. "All right, that's wet enough! Ya aren't clean yet, remember!" Sapir stood and shook herself, spraying water left and right, grabbed Azumi's hand, and dragged her out of the water. Sapir sat her down on a short, wooden stool, and the smell of lavender grew stronger as Sapir began scrubbing viciously at Azumi's hair, digging in with her fingernails until Azumi wondered if Sapir might pull her hair out by the roots. Azumi looked down and watched escaped soap suds plop to the floor and float down the hole in the marble at her feet.

"Azumi, this ain't workin'! Ya can't stare at the floor like that!" Sapir tilted Azumi's head in the desired position. "Now, find somethin' at eye level an' stare at it. Lookit th' Guild Master, he's over there with Silas. Don't look at Silas. He'll make faces at ya if he catches ya lookin' at him, and then you'll be laughin' too hard for me ta get ya clean." Sapir continued scrubbing.

Azumi had not noticed Silas and Leland before. They were halfway down the room from Sapir and herself. Leland lounged with his arms folded on the edge of the bath, his head on his arms, his eyes closed peacefully—or, at least, as peacefully as possible with Silas splashing water at him and pelting him with sponges. Even here Azumi could make out the mischievous look on the Erinyes's face. She had never seen Leland with his hair unbraided—well, unbraided and not a tangled mess. The long, blonde mass clung to his wet back and fanned out across the top of the water at his waist, rising and falling with the small waves that the other splashing bathers created. Silas took aim and bounced a sponge off the side of Leland's head, then feigned innocence when Leland turned around.

Sapir dumped a bucket of warm water over Azumi, obscuring her vision with dripping, black locks. "Gaah!" the Dryad complained, "he took 'em all! Wait here!"

Azumi pushed her hair out of her face and watched Sapir stalk across the room, hands clenched into fists, to Silas, who had filled his arms with sponges and broadened his horizons to anyone within range. "Silas!" Sapir shook her fist at the Erinyes. "Gimmie one o' those! They're for washin', not throwin'!" A sponge hit her in the shoulder. Sapir grabbed it in her toes, flipped it up behind her and over her shoulder, and caught it. "Thanks!" She stuck her tongue out at Silas good-naturedly. Silas held up a finger for silence and tread slowly through the water, sneaking up behind Leland, his arms raised above his head and his fingers hooked like claws, a playfully frightening expression on his face. Leland calmly and deliberately rose, placed a hand on top of Silas's head, and pushed him down under the water. Silas came back up sputtering.

"Guild Master!"

"It serves you right." Leland stepped out of the bath, appropriating one of Silas's projectile sponges.

Sapir returned to Azumi, shaking her head but laughing. "It's good ta see everyone smilin' again." The smell of the lavender soap grew stronger again; Sapir took hold of one of Azumi's arms and enthusiastically scoured her skin with the sponge. "So many scars," Sapir said to herself. Across the room, Leland scraped all his hair over one shoulder to wash it, uncovering a jagged scar that stood out a pinkish-purple on his back.

So many scars. Scars on the body, or heart, or mind? Did Sapir mean Azumi, or Leland? Where had that scar on his back come from, Azumi wondered? She couldn't imagine Leland as one careless enough to fall for an attack from behind.

Leland tipped a bucket over his head; it didn't hold enough to wash the soap from that much hair. He stood and walked to the edge of the bath to refill it.

Why did he always have that light reflecting from his eyes? It made them shine, it made them hard to read. Maybe he would always remain like that—aloof, distant. Maybe he had learned to hold his head so that the light always reflected from his eyes, so that nobody could really see inside of him, not everything. But he hadn't been aloof the night that Niram had brought her to Adamanthea. She'd wanted him to go away, Silas too—but he hadn't, and they'd been so kind to her before, and she didn't want that to stop, she didn't want to stop trusting them. She had never held onto a friend for more than a few years; eventually they would drift apart, and eventually she stopped trying and learned to cherish her solitude. And then she came here, and as much as she wished she could let go of the world, she didn't want to let these people drift away from her, these precious people who truly cared for her, and so when he had offered her his hand she had taken it and had held onto him for as long as she possibly could because she was afraid to be alone again, and she didn't want him or any of the Mahavada ever to go away.

Sapir dumped another bucket of water over Azumi's head. "There! All done!" She stepped back like an artist admiring her handiwork as the last of the lavender-scented water swirled away. "Feel any better now?"

Azumi paused. She felt—well—all she could feel now was Sapir's rough scrubbing. Azumi nodded. "Ya see? Ya can forget him, Lil' Missy. Now, go soak. It'll do ya good." Sapir gave Azumi a push toward the bath and took Azumi's place on the stool—washing herself, Azumi noted, with far less force than she had Azumi, cheerfully humming to herself. All of this, Azumi realized, was to help her forget. Azumi had wondered if Sapir ever took anything seriously. Clearly she had underestimated the Dryad. Maybe Sapir was right, maybe she could heal, and forget.

Azumi laid down on her back in the water, resting her head on the first step to keep her face above the water, and closed her eyes. Her body drifted up and down with the swaying of the water; she imagined that this must feel much like rocking in a cradle. She could almost fall asleep here, she could almost forget. She lay in the water and ceased to think, simply _was_, simply drifted. She lost track of the time that she lay there, until something told her to open her eyes.

Leland sat waist-deep in the water next to her, his long hair a golden rain pouring over his shoulders. He was thinner than she would have expected, no doubt because his rekindled anger at Anshu still burned at his heart. Azumi knew all about that hate. It was like snatching a flaming branch from a fire. It consumed all until nothing remained standing but the bare stones, but it was so terribly hard to let go of.

Azumi started and sat up when she saw him watching her. "I'm sorry, Miss Azumi. I didn't mean to frighten you." Leland scraped a lock of wet hair out of his face. "You looked so peaceful. You looked a lot happier than I've seen you in a long time." He smiled, and tilted his head, and for the first time the eternally reflecting light in his eyes disappeared completely. Fully unveiled, Azumi saw sorrow, hidden away for the sake of everyone around him. There too was deep bitterness, present for so long that he had ceased to think of it; the dark cloud of Anshu still hovered over him. Azumi saw also simple joy, though, joy that he was alive and his friends were alive and that the danger, for now, seemed to have passed. She could not put a name to the fourth silent word spoken by his eyes; it was a tiny seed, a new tongue of flame growing larger; she didn't think he was even aware of it yet. It was warm and flowing and pure, and at the same time stomach-clenching in a not unpleasant way that confused her. The rush overwhelmed Azumi, and she felt lightheaded. How could a person's eyes possibly say so much? As if suddenly realizing that the gap in his defenses had opened, Leland straightened, making his eyes glitter once again. Had he done all that on purpose? Or had she just started imagining things, putting too much meaning to occurrences that had none? Azumi wondered briefly if her own eyes ever spoke so many words, not knowing that they had gone dead and lifeless some time ago.

Leland toyed with a lock of his hair, clearly trying to build up the courage to speak. Azumi wished she could talk to him. But, no, it wasn't worth the risk. Instead she poked a finger at the scar on his back. How had he gotten it, she wondered again? Maybe he would tell her. Leland stiffened when she touched him, and then relaxed. "Keeper Anshu gave me that," he told her, pulling his hair over one shoulder to give her a better look. "Did you see the spear nailed to the side of the guild-home for good luck?" Azumi nodded. "It wasn't so lucky." Or perhaps it was, for Anshu. When Anshu picked up the child Leland and threw him away he had happened to scrape down the spear on the wall. An injury like that must have been torture to a little boy.

Leland looked at his hands, his fingertips creased and wrinkled from the water. "My, how time flies!" he laughed, his cheerfulness sounding forced to Azumi.

_Just brush it off,_ Azumi thought. _Change the subject when it starts to hit a little too close to home. We both do that, don't we?_

Leland stood with a small splash, squeezing water from his hair, droplets trickling down skin turned pink by the heat. "Whenever you're ready please find me, Miss Azumi. I have something for you." He stepped out of the bath, shaking water from his feet.

With a sigh Azumi sunk back down into the water and floated.


	21. Chapter 21: Detour Through the Sky

**Keeper of the Dragon  
Chapter 21 - Detour Through the Sky**

Azumi wondered where Leland kept finding these clothes for her to borrow. She wondered if she would ruin this dress, too. With her hair tied back at her neck but still wet from the bath, Azumi explored the carved Adamanthean halls in search of the Guild Master. _Please find me, Miss Azumi_, he had told her. _I have something for you._ How did he do it? How could he keep giving and giving to her when she, in her selfishness, never gave him anything in return but trouble?

She walked through the halls, the Token of the Dragon a warm, heavy weight against her chest. So much trouble over this little stone; or, not the stone, but the being contained within it and the power and authority that it represented. This broken chain around her neck bound her to life.

Azumi felt a soft breeze on her face—cool, yes, but winter's bite had gone. Spring really had come. She followed the moving air outside.

In just a short time, the Blue Siren Clan had exploded with spring. Dark green, climbing vines with large, heart-shaped leaves and blue trumpet flowers covered trellises placed around a square courtyard, scenting the air sweetly. A fountain in the center filled the air with the sound of trickling water.

Azumi found Leland sitting at the edge of that fountain, his chin in his hand, his eyes following Anil. The young Dragon stood barefoot on the stone-paved ground, his sword drawn, practicing the simplest of drills. He glanced back over his shoulder and spied Azumi, and suddenly he launched into a series of smooth, powerful, whirling strokes that no beginner could hope to complete without cutting his ears off. The sword flashed silver around him, over his head, behind his back. Once, Azumi would have laughed in delight at the display clearly intended to impress her.

Leland stood, catching up a bundle of blue cloth and a sword that had rested on the ground at his feet. It was not his usual weapon; that one still hung at his belt. Though this new sword had a slender, straight blade like Leland's, it sported a curving, delicate-looking guard around the hilt to protect the wielder's hand. Leland approached Azumi as Anil, looking miffed, returned to his drills.

"Do you remember that we decided to teach you to defend yourself, Miss Azumi? Riyad's divination?" Leland asked. Azumi nodded. "Anil wanted to instruct you, but his sword takes far too long to learn-" Leland spoke with a note of respect in his voice, though, clearly he had respect for Anil's skill as a fighter "-although it probably would be more effective against Brisingamen." A look of panic crossed Azumi's face. "Don't worry, Miss Azumi!" Leland assured her. "I don't expect you to fight with the Abaharaki if Brisingamen attacks us! It's just that, if he does come around again, I want you to be able to hurt him enough, or at least startle him enough, that you could run away and _get_ away from him. If it comes to that, it might make him think twice about hurting you again."

Leland offered Azumi the hilt of the sword, holding it out by the sheath. "This belonged to my mother. I like to keep it in the wagon, to remind me of her when I'm away from the guild-home, not to mention that it's good to have extra weapons. It feels right that you would have it. Mother always wanted a daughter, but I never had a sister." A look of pain flashed across Leland's face, but he quickly composed himself. "At least, not one that lived to draw breath." Azumi looked at him questioningly. "I would have had a little sister, Miss Azumi, but she was born dead. We named her Ardith before we buried her."

_He's had a lot of pain in his life, hasn't he?_ Azumi thought, looking up at him. _A lot more than me. How does he handle it all so well? I wonder if he could teach me? No, better not to bother him about that._

Leland shrugged uncomfortably. "Go on."

Azumi grasped the rapier and drew it slowly with a soft hiss against the lined sheath. It had clearly been made for a woman's hand, surprisingly light and perfectly balanced. Leland shook out the blue cloth—another cloak—and settled it around Azumi's shoulders. He bit his lip and frowned. "It looks like Mother was quite a bit taller than you, Miss Azumi. Ah, well, it doesn't matter. It may even serve you better this way, as long as you don't trip over it. This cloak is like a shield; it will stop a sword," Leland explained. "You'll still get a bruise from the force, but you won't get cut. Of course," he added, "it only works to some extent." He tied the strings at her neck and drew his own rapier. "Watch me, Miss Azumi. It's very simple, though like most things it takes practice to become good at." Azumi fell back a step behind Leland and tried to copy his positions. "Hold the sword like this. No, thumb on top. Yes, that's it." He nodded. "Now, stand like this, and turn your body to the side. You'll be a smaller target that way." Leland looked back over his shoulder. "Not quite, Miss Azumi."

Anil paused in his practice to watch the two. Women's fighting, he had always called that sword, which, now that he thought about it, probably made it perfect for Azumi to learn. The humans' swords were all either more suited for duels, such as Leland's, or for clubbing each other over the head. They were hardly cutting weapons, and, as Anil reasoned, if a sword doesn't cut, why bother with it when a pointed stick or a chair leg would serve the same purpose just as well? Although, Anil had to admit that in Leland's hands, that double-edged piece of steel proved deadly. Anil would never admit that out loud. He and the Guild Master were in the least very different from each other, if not complete opposites, in every aspect Anil could think of. Anil was, he realized, perhaps a bit jealous of the human.

Anil allowed himself to consider that idea. Why would he, a king, envy Guild Master Leland Blackhawk? Certainly Anil was not jealous of the man's appearance—though Leland had an elegant, dignified air about him that seemed to gain him respect, that others and especially women seemed to find attractive, Anil knew that he had always taken care of himself and was not ashamed of his own body. And Leland was forever trapped on the ground; he could not walk the winds like Anil! Leland's fighting skills, then? Absolutely not! Anil could best Leland in any battle, fair or otherwise, or kill the man any day if he needed to.

What, then? Anil rested the tip of his sword on the ground and stared hard as Leland finished adjusting Azumi into the desired position and continued his lesson. She certainly followed him around like a little duck, didn't she? What did Guild Master Leland Blackhawk have that King Anil Windermere did not? What did Anil lack that the Wing Goddess would not come with him?

Come to think of it, _all_ of the Abaharaki followed Leland. Well, it made perfect sense, he was their Guild Master, they had chosen him to lead them. But, the Abaharaki were not ducks. Anil had watched Silas and Sapir talk back to Leland, tease him, even, things that Anil's subjects would not dare do to him. Anil grudgingly added leadership to Leland's growing list of positive attributes. But that wasn't it, either. Anil was more than an adequate leader. Every single White Dragon would gladly give his life for Anil's. Anil could only assume that it was the same in the Abaharaki, and in return? Yes, Leland took good care of his Journeymen and Apprentices.

There. That was the difference. Anil felt that same, old pain returning. He didn't neglect his Clan at all, he did absolutely everything that he could think of to take care of his people, but the truth was that their numbers dwindled every year. Black Dragon raids constantly took lives and the things needed to live. His people were mostly nomadic to begin with, following the herds of makusy, or else settling in the forests with the animal-people. The Black Dragon Clan purposely built new cities and such on White Dragon hunting plains. Brisingamen meant to drive the White Dragon Clan into the ground. For that reason, Anil had left Adom Village to search for the Wing Goddess. Escaflowne would be their last hope against Brisingamen. If Azumi Chose Brisingamen, the Black Dragon Clan would exterminate Anil's people completely! Couldn't she see that? She couldn't choose Brisingamen after what the Black Dragon King had done to her! She had to choose Anil! Why didn't she understand? _Why_ did she take so long to make up her mind?

"The gods damn women and their indecisiveness," Anil muttered to himself. Leland and Azumi looked over.

"Come again?" Leland asked.

"I wasn't talking to you! Stop eavesdropping on me and mind your own business!" Anil sheathed his sword angrily. He would go practice somewhere else. He couldn't concentrate with those two around.

A path walled with the green leaves branched off from the courtyard and led to a hedge maze filled with those same, blue flowers. Anil stared at the entrance a moment. Yeah, they would leave him alone in there for awhile. There had to be a clearing or _something_ in the center. That was the point of these mazes, right? To find the reward at the end? Anil shrugged and plunged in, randomly turning corners.

By Escaflowne, he hated that Leland Blackhawk! Why did Leland have to have such control of the situation all of the time? The man was perfect! Why couldn't he just make a mistake? Why couldn't he have some flaw, some black spot on his pristine record? Hell, Anil would even settle for a gray spot, just something that would let him know that the man was mortal like everyone else!

Anil slapped a dangling vine that had branched off of its trellis out of his way and rounded another corner into the center of the maze. _That was ridiculously easy. Then again, I guess they don't want people getting too lost._

An arrow shot past Anil's head to thud into the edge of a target placed across the courtyard. Anil's hand went instinctively over his shoulder to the hilt of his sword. "Who's there?" Anil demanded, rising up on the balls of his feet, ready to move.

"Sorry about that!" a voice called sheepishly. Anil whipped around to see Riyad, a bow in the Delphi's hand and a quiver on his back that looked very out-of-place with his blue Keeper robes. Anil sighed in relief and irritation and lowered his arm.

"Isn't this place a little remote for archery practice?" Anil asked wryly.

"Of course it is. You were coming here to train with your own weapon, weren't you?" Riyad asked. "Well, yes, maybe it is a little remote. If not remote, then odd. But I needed to get away for awhile." Riyad fitted an arrow to the bowstring and drew it back to his cheek. "I'm so apprehensive. Tired. Anxious. I'm not quite sure of a word that fits right." Riyad let the arrow fly to strike next to the first, at the edge of the target.

"Some great Abaharaki," Anil commented.

"It's easier with my eyes closed. See?" To prove it, Riyad squeezed his eyes shut, the tattoo on his forehead glowing red, and shot another arrow that landed in the center of the target. "I was just an Apprentice, anyway."

Anil's own eyes widened. How had Riyad done that? _Delphi_, Anil reminded himself, _psychic._ "Why don't you just practice with your eyes closed, then?" Anil asked. Riyad sighed.

"What's the use when I already know how to do it with them shut? It's open that's the problem. I can't always rely on my mental eyes," Riyad explained. "Who knows if something will blind them? I've got to be ready. It is possible to kill an Armour, you know. Or even to completely destroy one. A lot of people don't know that. We try to keep it quiet, so that people won't worry. Right now I've got Naiades to help me, but that may not always be so." Riyad drew another arrow back.

"Kill an Armour?" Anil's criticizing frown melted in surprise. "I've never heard of that. They're gods, they can't die!"

"Oh, yes, it's quite possible. They're gods in the same sense that the Wing Goddess is a goddess." Riyad carefully aimed the arrow. "One Armour can mortally wound another, just as I could shoot this arrow in your chest, and you would eventually die. If the Armour isn't returned to its Token form, it would die too. If a wounded Geas in Token form is attacked by another Armour, it can be completely annihilated. Gone. No chance of reviving it, ever." Riyad let the arrow go. "I can't say that I'd particularly enjoy being the last Keeper of the Siren, but it's something that all the Keepers have to think about once we're Chosen. The Guild Master always taught me to prepare for all possible situations, even the ones that seem the least likely." The arrow thunked into the second outer ring of the target. "So, it's as much a Keeper's job to protect the Armour as it is to protect the Clan." Riyad lowered his bow and turned to Anil. "How do you do it?" he asked.

"I aim at the center, not the outside," Anil answered dryly.

"Not that!" Riyad grinned. "You're teasing me, aren't you?"

"Just get to your point," Anil grumbled. He wasn't particularly in the mood for games right now. Riyad's smile disappeared.

"How do you keep going? The Blue Siren Clan—please pardon my bluntness—is in nowhere near the same condition that the White Dragon Clan is, but I feel like I'm drowning in my responsibility. I can only imagine what it's like for you. So, how do you do it? How do you keep going?"

How did he keep going? Anil thought about his answer before giving it. "I have to. I just have to. I owe it to my people. I have to get Escaflowne so that I can save them. I can't settle for anything less. So, I guess your answer is nothing more than willpower."

"And what happens if the Escaflowne takes your brother for its new Keeper?" Riyad asked. Anil shrugged casually.

"Everyone in the White Dragon clan dies."


	22. Chapter 22: Knotting the Net

**Keeper of the Dragon  
Chapter 22 - Knotting the Net**

Shoes in his hand, Anshu tapped his foot irritably. "Dammit, why can't women ever be on time? They're all the same!" He cast a glare at the Keeper of the Griffin. "This is very unprofessional, Divyendu! After all the smoke you blow at me, I would think that you would at least have control over your own underlings!" Divyendu _hmphed_ and looked away, dismissing the matter. Anshu rolled his eyes. He would argue for his authority again later.

"Aah! Don't bother the Keepers now!"

Anshu looked back over his shoulder to see Kiran—long hair loose, a pair of reading glasses perched on his nose and an official-looking tome bearing the Red Demon crest on its cover hastily tucked under his arm—grab for Brisingamen with his free hand, causing him to nearly drop the book. Brisingamen knocked the Temporary's arm away, a hand going to the hilt of his repaired sword as a warning. Kiran sighed, clutching the book to his chest.

"He's doing it again."

Brisingamen marched confidently up to Anshu. "Keeper-"

"Leave us alone, boy," Anshu shot, "we've gone over this already. I don't have the time for you right now."

Brisingamen set his jaw stubbornly. He resembled his younger brother in more ways than he would care to admit. "Let me come," he finished. "Let me take the Wing Goddess." Anshu snorted.

"You've already taken her once! Try it again and you might kill her!" Brisingamen's cheeks flushed pink beneath his tan. Good. Finally, a bit ashamed of himself.

"You know what I mean," he said stiffly.

"And I won't allow it."

"Then let me kill Anil!" Brisingamen argued. "At least let me get my damn brother out of the way!"

"Out of the question," Anshu told him.

"Why?"

Anshu planted his hands on his hips in a very parental gesture. "What if Anil Windermere is the one destined to be the Keeper of the Dragon? What if Azumi Kuronari wants to Choose him? At this point, you've worn my patience so thin that I say that if Escaflowne Chooses Anil Windermere, the gods bless him in his fortune. I'd rather see _him_ Keeper than end up with no Keeper at all, after all this."

Brisingamen growled and stalked away. Kiran shrugged apologetically. "I tried to stop him."

"Keep an eye on him while I'm gone," Anshu told Kiran. "Don't let him do anything stupid."

"Yes, Father. Brother," Kiran corrected himself. Looking away, he pulled the glasses off and shoved them in his pocket.

"Father is fine, Kiran," Anshu said softly. Kiran brightened noticeably.

"All right, we're here!" Standing on her toes, Phaea waved an arm wildly. Nyx elbowed her gold sister in the ribs.

Both cat-women had disguised themselves as dancing girls, a profession common among female animal-girls of their age, with their hair in dozens of thin, beaded and feathered braids and gaudy costumes. They carried no visible weapons with them, but the cat-people seemed to have an odd knack for producing things out of nowhere—or perhaps they just planned to use their fists if they ran into trouble.

"It's about time!" Anshu tucked his shoes into his belt at the small of his back and yanked the Token of the Demon from its loop. "I'll meet you in Adamanthea."

"If you would just _wait_ for me," Divyendu huffed. Anshu gave him a razor grin.

"Young blood flies faster. Sorry, old man." He turned and hurled the Token of the Demon in the air. "Descend to me, Alseides!"

From the pillar of red light emerged a grotesque, blood-coloured giant. It lacked the polished look of the other gods, its armor could have been hacked from raw stone. The twisted, metal claws on its long arms brushed the ground. The ebony cloak hung tattered down its back. The other Clans often wondered if Alseides had been a joke of the Great Creator; if when all the people half-dragon, half-human had finally banded together to form their own Clan and clamored for an Armor of their own, the Great Creator had sighed and said, "Oh, here! Take it and be quiet!" and thrown together this lumbering monstrosity. The Demons, though, knew that Alseides had a little trick that compensated enough for its lack of agility, a secret carefully guarded for hundreds of years. All the better if everyone else underestimated it.

At Anshu's touch Alseides opened with an organic crack, and he climbed inside. "Alseides! I give you my blood!" Dozens of artery-like needles parted from the control chamber's walls, sought out Anshu's bare skin, and jabbed themselves in. _That_ he still did not fully understand. The other Keepers only had to put up with a few life-channels in their necks, a few in their fingers. _He_ had one leeching on every gods-damned vein and major blood vessel in his body!

Kiran shifted nervously. He always hated watching his father—brother—father bond with the Demon Armour. He worried that, one of these days, it would take too much of Anshu's blood, killing him.

At Anshu's command Alseides closed, and the cloak split into bat-wings not unlike Anshu's own. "I'll meet you in Adamanthea, old man," he told Divyendu with a sneer. The Demon jumped into the sky and shot toward the Blue Siren Clan.

Nyx giggled. "Old man. Ya had that one comin', Keeper!" She flipped her filmy veil over her face.

"Oh, be quiet, woman," Divyendu grumbled.

"Let's get going!" Phaea chimed in.

Divyendu pulled off his gloves and tucked them into his belt. He would have no actual part in this mission, aside from ferrying Nyx and Phaea to Adamanthea. (Really, Anshu should not have been doing anything, either, but there was no explaining a Demon. He thought that it would be _fun_!) The time had not yet come to reveal to the other Clans that the Gray Griffins had thrown in their lot with the Red Demons and the Black Dragons. Seeing a gigantic, silver griffin flying around the Blue Siren Clan would raise suspicions enough.

Enough dallying. Divyendu threw his silver knife into the air. "Descend to me, Scherazade!"

The gray-armored god that appeared when the silver light dissolved was nearly the complete opposite of Alseides, with its light frame and thin blade, the golden crest on its forehead and its cloak the dark blue of a city night sky. Divyendu entered Scherazade, and at his word it changed, blood oozing from the shifting joints. The cloak sucked up into its shoulders, it fell forward onto its hands. Its fingers fused into a lion's paws; the shoulders unfolded and the cloak reappeared as eagle's wings. Nyx and Phaea sprang up onto its back behind the aging Keeper.

Phaea giggled. "I love flyin'!"

"Don't fall off again," Nyx warned. Phaea gave her sister a hurt, pouting look.

"I won't if ya don't push me again!"

Scherazade spread its great wings and jumped into the sky.

ooooo

Anshu looked up and squinted into the sun as the gray griffin came into view on the horizon. It swooped down beside him, just low enough for Nyx and Phaea to leap off and roll to a stop in the now-green grass. The Griffin Armour turned sharply and shot away from Adamanthea.

"That was fun!" Phaea laughed.

"We've gotta do that again!"

Anshu raised an eyebrow at the two cat-women, who lay on their backs in the soft grass, laughing. "Are you two simpletons quite ready?" he asked, throwing a light, white cloak around his shoulders and fastening it shut with a golden clasp in the shape of a unicorn's head. He hated unicorns. They couldn't be ridden and they tasted terrible; what good were they? The other Clans—humans, in particular—seemed to have just the opposite sentiments, though. He could never understand them.

"Yeah!" Nyx sprang nimbly to her feet.

"Good." Anshu tugged the hood of the cloak over his face. For some odd reason, he had noticed, nobody ever suspected anything of someone wearing white. Of course, Brisingamen had just recently proved single-handedly that the color a man wore was no reflection of his integrity. It made no sense, but the theory had held under testing. The cloak made an excellent disguise. "Now, repeat your mission back to me," Anshu ordered. "You cat-girls always seem to have a way of adding your own footnotes to orders."

Nyx cleared her throat. "You, Keeper Anshu Falconpointe," she recited in a mocking, monotone voice, "will accompany us into Adamanthea-"

"The city, not the tavern," Phaea added in.

"-an' assist us in th' location o' th' Wing Goddess, Azumi Kuronari-"

"The little bitch."

"-Once there, you will create a distraction by attacking the Abaharaki-"

"Whom we're allowed to kill."

"-specifically Leland Blackhawk-"

"Whom we're _not_ allowed to kill, but if _you_ kill him, all the better."

"-During that time, we will abduct said Wing Goddess, Azumi Kuronari-"

"The little bitch."

"-an' re-locate her ta this spot-"

"Minor injuries to the Wing Goddess, Azumi Kuronari, are acceptable but discouraged."

"-where we will meet ya and you will fly us all back ta th' Red Demon Clan." Nyx raised her own eyebrow in a sarcastic parody of Anshu's face. Anshu rolled his eyes.

"Close enough." Wrapping the white cloak around himself to hide his red clothes, he started toward Adamanthea.

Nyx and Phaea frolicked on ahead of him. He had to admit, they played their part well, two dancing-girls off to seek their fortune, naive and carefree. Or perhaps they didn't completely put on a show. Cat-girls all seemed to act like that. Well, they certainly were playing in the traditional sense, leaping over one another and pouncing on white butterflies.

Anshu stopped to give the two more of a head start. No one should know that they came together. A cool, spring breeze tugged playfully at the cowl of his cloak and tossed loose flower petals at him. The air smelled fresh and sweet. The air never smelled like this back in his own Clan. One of the butterflies fluttered in his face curiously. Such a beautiful little creature, so delicate. It landed to rest on his shoulder, wings opening and closing methodically, then took to the air again, hovering at eye level.

Anshu grinned wickedly. He reached out deliberately, plucked the butterfly out of the air, and crushed it in his hand.


	23. Chapter 23: Brother of my blood, son of ...

**Keeper of the Dragon  
Chapter 23 - Brother of my Blood, Son of my Heart, Be Not Afraid**

The Delphi were such arrogant fools. Anshu had seen not a single guard during his entire walk through Adamanthea. Could their new Keeper see the future so clearly that he could pick out every single person who planned to jump at him with a knife or poison his food? Shen Heatherwilde had not possessed such skill, and his little son Riyad had far less experience. Hmm. Perhaps Anshu should kill Riyad while he was here. It would take the Delphi longer than before to find another Keeper of the Siren. No, Anshu decided, he would keep to their original plan. But if Riyad or any of the other Abaharaki happened to block his way to Leland or Azumi Kuronari Wing Goddess, forcing him to kill—well, he would not go out of his way to avoid it.

He could see Nyx and Phaea skipping ahead of him, acting the part of the carefree cat-twins perfectly. They flagged down an aproned Delphi man with a basket of hot bread hovering over his head.

"Hey!" Nyx stood on her toes, putting her face right in the Delphi's. "Which way goes ta th' Oracle?"

"We wanna see th' Oracle!" Phaea chimed in.

"We're dancers, ya know!"

"Just startin' out!"

"We're real good, though!"

"But-" and Phaea paused a moment "-we can't find him! Th' Oracle!"

"Which way is he?"

The Delphi baker had to take a moment to sort out their words before answering. "The Oracle is a very busy man. His time should be saved for _important_ divinations. Why don't you two find a lesser fortune-teller? I can recommend one I know to be very accurate."

"But! But!" Nyx's eyes went wide and pleading. "This _is_ important!"

"An' besides, the Oracle's th' only one who'll do it for _free!_" Phaea added. "We don't have a whole lot o' money!"

The Delphi sighed and pointed. "Take this street all the way to the Armour Courtyard, you'll find him. If he's not in the Cavern of Eurynome, someone can direct you to him from there."

"Thank you!" Nyx hugged the Delphi so hard that he nearly lost his psychic grip on the basket of bread, and the two continued merrily on their way in the direction that the Delphi had pointed. Anshu shook his head in amusement, a smile playing across his lips, and followed once again, tugging down on the cowl of his hood. The Delphi straightened his apron indignantly and went on his way. Nyx and Phaea moved slowly, stopping often to gawk at one thing and point at another, and breathe on the windows to fog them up and draw on them, and trip over the smallest obstacles. They certainly did put on quite a show. They acted so out-of-place that nobody even glanced at them twice, brushing them off as foreigners.

Finally they frolicked their way into a flowering, paved courtyard that had been their intended arrival all along despite the directions they had asked for. The clang and mostly scrape of steel on steel sounded over falling water. Nyx and Phaea stood off to the side, absorbed as obviously and conspicuously as possible in watching the duel. Anshu hung back around the corner, just out of view. Not long now.

Azumi timidly lunged at Leland; he parried her thrust and attacked. Azumi jumped back and threw up her free arm, clutching the edge of that blue cloak, up in front of her. Leland broke off the attack and sheathed his rapier. "You're getting better, Miss Azumi, but don't forget-" and he fingered the cloak that she wore "-this will only stop a blade for so long. You need to parry." Azumi nodded. Leland tilted his head to the side. "I think we're done for today. You look tired." Azumi nodded again and wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. "How's your wrist?" Leland asked. "Feeling better?" She nodded. "Good. Go rest, Miss Azumi."

Azumi sat down at the edge of the fountain and splashed the cool water on her face. Nyx and Phaea looked at each other with wicked grins, then slowly sauntered forward.

As Leland walked away, Anshu fell into quiet step behind him, unfastening the unicorn clasp on his cloak.

Azumi looked up at the two cat-women whose shadows fell over her.

Anshu let his cloak slip to the ground behind him. Leland paused, hearing the rustle of cloth, sensing that someone followed him, and turned. Anshu smirked and attacked, the Token of the Demon already in his hands.

Azumi jumped to her feet and ran for the hedge maze, gathering the protective blue cloak around her.

Leland sprang back to avoid Anshu's downward strike and jerked his rapier out of its sheath. He lunged forward, throwing his free hand out behind him for balance; Anshu sidestepped and slapped Leland in the back with the side of the Token. He needed to kill time; he could afford to play with Leland. He needed to, in fact. "You'll never defeat me with all that _poking_," he sneered. Leland, stumbling forward, recovered his footing. He looked up and spied Azumi in flight from the two cat-women.

"Miss Azumi!" Leland left Anshu behind and ran. Anshu's brow furrowed.

"You can't ignore me! I'm not done with you yet, dammit!" Anshu dropped the Token of the Demon, and green light flared at his forehead. Pressing the heels of his hands together, a green light exploded at Leland's feet, leaving a furrow in the paving-stones behind the Guild Master. Anshu laughed shrilly but Leland rolled, sprang up, and continued running.

"Attack!" Leland screamed as loud as he possibly could. "Attack! Abaharaki to arms! Sapir! Silas! We're under attack!" He chased after Nyx and Phaea into the maze.

Anshu caught up the Token of the Demon. "Well, damn. You weren't supposed to do _that_." He took off in pursuit.

She couldn't run much longer. Azumi's lungs burned, her breath came in short gasps, her mouth had gone dry. Her feet felt like lead weights; any moment now her aching legs would give out under her. She risked a glance back over her shoulder. The two cat-women seemed to have no trouble keeping up. If they let her exhaust herself, then they would have an even easier time of killing her.

Azumi lost control of her legs; she tripped over her own feet and went sprawling on her face on the stones.

"That didn't take long at all, did it, Sister?"

"She's weak."

Panic rose in Azumi's heart. She had to get away, had to get away, right now! She started crawling, the stones scraping her elbows and knees.

Anil seized Azumi's arm, dragged her to her feet, and shoved her behind him. "Run, Azumi," he ordered. Azumi didn't move, she couldn't move, fear had fused the soles of her feet to the stones. "Run!" he barked. Azumi ran.

Phaea sized Anil up. "Who's this guy?"

"_I_ don't know. One o' th' Abaharaki? He kinda reminds me o' that Brisingamen guy," Nyx answered her.

"Maybe he's an Abaharaki? Where else would ya find a White Dragon out o' his Clan?"

"I am Anil Windermere, the king of the White Dragon Clan," Anil told them, pride in his voice.

"Anil. Not an Abaharaki!" Nyx's eyes lit up. "Let's kill him!"

"Keeper Anshu told us not ta," Phaea reminded her.

"He told _Brisingamen_ not ta kill her. He didn't mention _Anil_ ta _us_. An' he _is_ in our way."

"Right!"

The twins' claws slid out from beneath their fingertips. Anil reached over his shoulder for his sword and attacked, bringing it around in a horizontal sweep. Nyx crouched and kicked Anil's legs out from under him; the sword flew from his hands and he landed on his back, the impact knocking the breath from him.

Phaea's face appeared above him. "Too easy." She aimed her claws for his throat, a killing blow. Green light exploded, throwing the gold cat-woman away from him to crash and stay in a hedge, her face gone, a charred, bleeding mess in its place.

"Sister!" Nyx hissed, her eyes widening. "Damn you!" Her claws found Anil's arm as he stood, raking five deep furrows. He gasped and swung his fist at her, but the nimble cat-girl ducked away, braids clicking and clattering, and swiped at his side. Anil brought his knee up into her jaw, and Nyx reeled back, her hand clapped over her mouth, blood oozing freely between her fingers. She had bitten clean through her tongue, she wouldn't survive that; still, better to finish her off. Anil hurled a green flame at her, and Nyx skidded along the ground before stopping in a crumpled heap, a hole burned into her chest.

Anil tried not to look at the two women he had killed as he recovered his sword. When would the killing stop? Perhaps he could only admit the weak sentiment to himself, but he did admit it. He wanted the killing and the dying to stop. He had better find Azumi. If anything happened to her, the killing and the dying would never end.

Azumi huddled in a corner in the center of the maze, the blue cloak over her like a turtle's shell. The sounds of fighting had stopped. _Oh, let it be over, please let it be over._ She lifted a corner of the cloak and peeked out. Black feathers littered the ground, but she was alone. _Oh, thank goodness._

A hand seized her shoulder roughly. She knew that hand. Oh, she knew that hand. Azumi scrambled away from Brisingamen and to her feet and drew the sword Leland had given her. His lessons rushed through her head. _Turn to the side, knees bent-I can't do it!_

"Do you really think you can defend yourself from me with that _stick_, Lady Wing Goddess?" Brisingamen asked in a low voice. The point of Azumi's rapier wavered.

_I can't do it I can't do it I can't do it…_

"Brisingamen!" Anil appeared and put himself between the two, holding naked steel in his hands—but he was injured, he would hardly put up much of a fight.

_Leland! Help!_

"Get out of my way, Brother," Brisingamen ordered.

"I won't!" Anil's eyes gleamed stubbornly, even as blood trickled down his side. "You can't have her! After what you've done, you don't even deserve to _look_ at the Wing Goddess!"

Quiet as she could manage, Azumi stepped around behind Brisingamen.

Leland burst into the courtyard, Anshu close behind him in pursuit. Both Dragons' heads whipped around in their direction.

Anshu's eyes narrowed. "Brisingamen! What the hell are you doing here, boy?" he demanded.

_Now._ Azumi summoned all her strength and lunged. By now she could execute the simple attack even with her eyes closed, but her courage failed her. The point of the sword merely scratched Brisingamen's shoulder, instead of the crippling or killing blow she had intended. _Oh no!_

Brisingamen looked back at Azumi, then to Anil. He wiped at the trickle of blood that ran down his bare arm and stared in shock at his red fingers. "The Choice of the Wing Goddess," he said softly, disbelief in his voice. His hand went to the hilt of his sword. "So be it." He drew back his arm and hurled his sword as sharp as flame at Anil.

The air filled glittering dust; a flurry of black cloth and pale skin dropped from the sky between Brisingamen and Anil, and the sword slammed into Kiran's chest. All mouths dropped open. _"Kiran!"_ Anshu screeched, shoving Leland aside, dropping the Token of the Demon. Kiran's slender hands grasped the blade of the sword in a weak attempt to pull it out.

"You told me—you told me to keep an eye on him—Father—" Kiran choked, blood spurting from his mouth and running down his chin, his voice apologetic. He spat a stream of crimson on the ground, drew in a shuddering breath, and choked again as the blood flowed backward into his lungs.

"Brisingamen, you bastard! I'll kill you! I'll tear your heart out!" Anshu lunged at the golden-eyed Dragon, all caution thrown away.

"Father…" Kiran dropped to his knees. Brisingamen immediately forgotten, Anshu rushed to Kiran. He jerked the sword free and caught Kiran as he fell backwards.

"There is always another path." Brisingamen picked up the Token of the Demon. He spread his black wings, jumped into the sky, and shot away on the wind with a final trail of feathers.

_Oh no I killed him Anshu's son is going to die and it's all my fault…_ Azumi turned away, hiding her face in her hands.

"What the hell did you do that for, Kiran?" Anshu asked, confusion and disbelief in his voice.

"You told me to—you said—Anil—might be Keeper—you were right…" Kiran answered softly.

Anshu looked away, at a loss for words. This couldn't happen. He couldn't lose his Kiran, his precious little Kiran. He had fought battles against injury and illness for his little brother before and emerged victorious. But the dying Demon's blood soaked through Anshu's clothes as Kiran lay in Anshu's lap, head pillowed in the crook of Anshu's arm, as Anshu had held him so many times when Kiran was tiny. "Kiran." Anshu had fought illness and injury for his little brother before, but this time he couldn't do a single damn thing. He had so many things he wanted to say, he was running out of time. He'd missed so much. He'd missed everything. His time had all been stolen from him and Kiran had grown up without his guiding hand. He had left Kiran and come back to find a completely different person, and now that Anshu had finally gotten to know Kiran again he would be forced to leave Kiran yet again. "I'm so proud of you, sweet thing," Anshu told him. "I love you." He choked. His tears came all at once, and he could not speak.

Kiran's eyes were frightened. "I don't—want to go—I'm afraid."

Anshu forced a smile. He had to hide his tears, for Kiran. His little brother was already frightened enough. "It's all right. Don't worry," he assured Kiran gently.

"I'm afraid."

"I've got you, Kiran."

"Don't let them take me," Kiran pleaded, flinging his hands up before his eyes, "I don't want to go!"

"It's all right. I'm here. Don't worry."

Kiran whimpered, like a frightened child. Anshu pressed Kiran's head against his shoulder, hiding the Temporary's face from the outside world. "I've got you," Anshu repeated. "I've got you. I'm here. Don't be afraid."

Leland frowned hard at the ground. He had never known this side of his most hated enemy. He just couldn't believe that the man had a heart. It had to be an act, a trap, _something._

_Father,_ Kiran mouthed. His chest ceased to move, his eyes glazed over. He didn't gasp, he didn't choke. He simply stopped.

Anshu shook Kiran's shoulder. "Kiran," he whispered with a trembling voice, "Kiran." The Temporary's eyes stared at him lifelessly, his head lolling back.

Anshu closed Kiran's staring eyes. He threw back his head and screamed, an agonizing shriek of pain and rage and sorrow that caused even Leland to cover his ears and look away.

His emotional strength exhausted, Anshu rested his forehead against his brother's and cried freely. "My little Kiran," he wept. "My Kiran, my light, why did you leave me?"


	24. Chapter 24: Wing Goddess

**Keeper of the Dragon  
Chapter 24 – Wing Goddess**

Leland couldn't tear his eyes away from Anshu. The entire scene was unreal to him. He had hated this man for so long that Anshu had truly become a terrible demon in his mind, a monster, something purely evil and sadistic and cruel. Now his eyes betrayed everything he had thought of Anshu before as he looked down at the Demon. Tears coursed down Anshu's pale cheeks as he hugged the lifeless body to him, the body of—his son? Kiran had addressed Anshu as Father, had he not? No, he must have meant it in a figurative sense. After all, Anshu was the Keeper of the Demon—father of the Clan and so forth, that kind of sentiment, and Kiran was the Red Demon Temporary; working so closely with the Keeper, it would be easy for him to view Anshu in that manner—but Anshu's words floated back into Leland's mind. _I'm so proud of you, sweet thing. I love you._ Anshu's son, then. This simply could not be true! Anshu Falconpointe did _not_ have a heart!

Then why did the memory of Leland's father, cradling Leland's stillborn little sister, keep resurfacing in his mind whenever he looked at Anshu? That had been Leland's first real memory of sadness, losing the sister he had waited so long for. No! There was nothing similar about the two events, nothing at all! No! He had to keep hating Anshu! To do otherwise would betray the memory of his parents, to admit that in killing them Anshu had not done evil!

Leland looked away. His head ached. His heart felt sick. Standing here, listening to Anshu's sobs, his softly murmured words, it grew harder and harder to recall how he could hate the man in the first place.

He shifted his grip on his rapier. There knelt his most mortal enemy, completely defenseless, pathetic, even. Right? He could kill Anshu right now. He could avenge his parents right now. Couldn't he?

Could he really take advantage of his enemy in that enemy's time of weakness?

Could he afford not to?

Did people like Anshu deserve that kind of mercy?

A hand pressed to the gash in his side, his red shirt sticking to the wound like a crude bandage, Anil's eyes had gone wide from shock, his face ashen in humorous contrast with the rest of his tanned skin. "That should have been me run through on that sword. Good gods."

Leland looked back to Anshu. He could kill Anshu right now. He should kill him right now. Another step forward. He may never have a chance this good again. Another step forward. He had to keep hating Anshu.

"Oh, dear."

Leland looked back over his shoulder again. Riyad had appeared in the entryway to their little courtyard of death, flanked by Silas and Niram. Those big, green eyes took in Azumi, Anil, himself. They stopped on Anshu and Kiran.

Leland watched the conflicting emotions flit across Riyad's face. He could name them all. Shock. What had happened here? Anger. Anshu and those two dead cat-women he had passed had attacked Riyad's friends, his family. Relief. Everyone seemed to be all right. Concern. What to do now? Riyad had changed, even in this short time, Leland could see it. He would make a fine leader for his people.

His former apprentice surprised him, though, when a look of pure compassion finally settled on Riyad's sweet face. Riyad touched Silas's arm and spoke to him softly.

The two approached Anshu quietly. It seemed sacrilege to break the relative silence that filled the air. Anil planted himself between Riyad and his destination. "Kiran saved my life, Keeper," he told Riyad. "You can't hurt Anshu. Not like this." Riyad nodded once. Understanding, Anil stepped aside.

What were they all doing, Leland wondered? This was the perfect chance to kill Anshu Falconpointe! They may not have another!

Riyad gathered his robes around himself and knelt next to Anshu. Hesitantly, he reached out to touch the Demon's shoulder. Anshu flinched away. "Keeper," Riyad said gently, "I promise that no one will harm you."

"Harm me?" Anshu laughed, his voice raw. The word sounded hollow. Anshu bowed his head, hiding his face from Riyad.

"Keeper." Riyad reached out again.

"Don't touch me!" Anshu snapped, baring his teeth. Riyad jerked his hand back, as though afraid that Anshu would bite it. "Don't."

Niram glanced at Leland. "Who is that man that Anshu holds?" he asked.

"His son, so it seems," Leland answered coldly, louder than he had meant to. "Kiran. The Red Demon Temporary." Hearing the Guild Master's voice, Riyad glanced back at Leland momentarily. By Scherazade, how could Riyad look at Anshu with such kind eyes?

Niram nodded. "You're right, that is Kiran. My, it's been so long since I last visited the Red Demon Clan, I didn't recognize him. I always thought the two looked alike."

"Your son?" Riyad asked. "I'm so sorry, Keeper." Riyad looked from Anil to Kiran. "He saved Anil's life, so I hear. He died a hero, and if it pleases you we will give him a funeral befitting one." A pause, then Anshu shook his head slowly.

"Thank you, but I don't think that he would like that. He never liked attention."

"Of course."

_Riyad!_ Leland thought fiercely, _what are you doing?_

Riyad sat back on his heels. "Please take his body, Silas."

"No!" Anshu snarled, holding onto Kiran protectively. Silas held up his hands innocently.

"All right, I won't touch him!"

"Peace, Keeper," Riyad pressed.

"Not yet. You can't take him yet." Anshu slowly stroked Kiran's hair with red-stained fingers. "I can't let him go yet."

"I understand."

Riyad came to Leland next. "I'm all right, Riyad," Leland told him.

"No, you're not." Riyad studied Leland's face. Before becoming the Keeper of the Siren, the timid boy had hardly ever looked Leland in the eye, or spoken a sentence to him that did not contain the words "Guild Master" or "sir." He had changed. "Your face is so cold," Riyad observed, reaching up to touch Leland's cheek. "Don't you feel for him at all, Guild Master? His sadness?"

"No, Riyad," Leland answered. He didn't feel a thing. He wouldn't allow himself to feel a thing. Not for Anshu Falconpointe.

"Can you only think of your revenge?" Riyad's face saddened. "I always thought better of you than that." Riyad looked like a child who had just learned that his storybook hero was nothing more than a faerie tale. "You always seemed bigger than that to me, Guild Master. Don't you have any heart at all?" he asked, his voice so quiet that Leland had to strain to hear him.

His words struck Leland like a bolt of lightning. _Good gods._ Shame washed through Leland. _I'm_ supposed to be the kind one, the forgiving one. I've become that demon that I accused Anshu of being. Leland's face softened. "Often the apprentice has a few things to teach the Master," Leland replied. Anshu and Azumi were knocking the whole world off its feet, weren't they? Riyad smiled.

"I'm glad."

Leland looked to Azumi huddled on the ground, her ponytail splayed out like muddy water poured on the stones. He felt a surge of relief. The Wing Goddess had Chosen. She could finally relax. Her part had ended. "Miss Azumi." She looked up when she heard her name. "You've done it, Miss Azumi," he told her, smiling. The tension he saw in her face always seemed to ease when he smiled. He wished she could smile back. "You've Chosen," he told her. She frowned at him. Perhaps she did not yet realize what she had done. "You've chosen Anil."

She understood now. She ripped the pendant off over her head, marched to Anil, and thrust it at him. _Take it!_ her eyes pleaded. _Take it and get it away from me! I never want to see it again!_ Anil accepted the Token of the Dragon reverently.

"Thank you, Wing Goddess," he told her, bowing. Azumi's eyes melted with relief. She looked as though she had run a hundred miles without rest.

Anshu stood slowly, lifting Kiran in his arms. His pale eyes scanned the ground. "Where is the Token of the Demon?" he croaked, his throat dry. He swallowed hard. "Did one of you pick it up?"

"Brisingamen did," Anil told him. Anshu's eyes widened; he nearly dropped Kiran's body.

"You didn't stop him? Any of you?" Anshu demanded, gaze flicking from one companion to the next.

"You can get it back from him later," Anil said, one hand going to the Token of the Dragon around his neck. "He can't do anything with it."

"Can't do anything with it!" Anshu exclaimed. "You're the White Dragon King, don't you know the Gadarasarai Song?" Anshu nodded to Azumi. " 'She is the Wing Goddess! The gods bow down before her!' " he quoted.

Niram frowned. "Which means?"

"Which means that Miss Azumi can call and command any of the Armours just like a Keeper," Anil answered. "They'll all obey her."

"Why didn't you tell us before?" Leland asked.

"I didn't think it mattered," Anil told him. "Miss Azumi is on our side, she wouldn't steal an Armour. And she can't fight, it wouldn't make any sense to put her in one. What does all that have to do with Brisingamen?"

Anshu's already-light skin had gone so pale that it was almost translucent. "And I thought he was trying to force the Choice like a fool," he said softly. "He knew what he was doing this whole time."

"What?" Leland pressed. It must be terrible, if it had _Anshu_ this worried.

"Brisingamen has lain with the Wing Goddess," Anshu finally answered. "Their auras have mixed. Alseides won't be able to tell Azumi Kuronari apart from Brisingamen. Now the gods bow down to _him_, too." Anshu's shoulders sagged wearily; he looked as though he had aged ten years. "He couldn't have Escaflowne, so he took Alseides, and I'll be damned if he doesn't plan to use it against us."

Anshu straightened. Leland saw the cold, blue fire light in Anshu's eyes anew. "Brisingamen Windermere will die," he vowed. He strode sharply away, determination back in his step. Anil and Riyad followed. Niram turned to leave, but Leland stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

"Yes?" the Erinyes asked. Leland hesitated. He didn't want to do it. He could barely make himself say the words. But he had to do it.

"Send Miss Azumi home," Leland asked. "Please. She can't stay on Gaea any longer. It's too dangerous. I'm afraid for her."

Niram watched Azumi retrieve her rapier and wipe the trickle of Brisingamen's blood from the blade on her cloak. Her hand shook so badly that it took her several tries to insert the point of the blade in its sheath. "I suppose it's for the best," Niram sighed. "I thought so much that this would help her, but now she's even worse off than in the beginning."

"Help her?" Leland asked. "Worse off?"

"How do you think she came to be the Wing Goddess?" Niram questioned. "Destiny?"

"How else?" How else could one pick someone so important as the Wing Goddess?

Niram looked back to Leland. "There is no one person destined to be the Wing Goddess. The task falls to the one who needs it most."

"Miss Azumi?"

"Yes, Miss Azumi." Niram nodded. "I looked out at the Mystic Moon and I found a young girl with no belief in herself." He shook his head. "I wanted to lift her up, but in the end I only pushed her down farther. I wonder if she will ever forgive me?"

"I do not think she holds you to blame," Leland told him.

"Ah, well, lucky am I, then." Niram nodded. "I'll send her home. Say your good-byes."

Azumi sheathed the rapier and looked up at Leland as he approached her. "Miss Azumi." _If only there was another way._ He reached down and took her hands in his. She had such small hands, compared to his. Scherazade, why did she have to look at him like that, so frightened? It only made it harder. Where to start? His mouth had gone dry. "Miss Azumi, I know your time on Gaea hasn't been a pleasant one." Could he possibly understate that any more? "But we cannot thank you enough. Your help may very well have saved Gaea. You've given us a chance we never had before. You've given us so much, and we've given you nothing." Azumi shook her head, denying his statement.

"You have until my words end, Leland." Behind them, Niram closed his eyes, and, stretching out a hand before him, palm up, began to sing softly. His beautiful voice, though quiet, filled the air.

"Win dain…a lotica…"

Azumi's eyes widened as a pillar of white light shot up toward the sky and a flock of snowy birds took flight, as if saluting the departure of the Wing Goddess.

"En vai tu ri…si lota…"

Now that Leland had begun, his words tumbled out faster and faster. He felt as though another person spoke them, and he only stood there, watching and listening. "I'm so happy to have known you, Miss Azumi. I won't forget you, the Abaharaki will never forget you. You're a beautiful, sweet girl, Miss Azumi." Leland gripped her hands tighter. Every word was another nail in his heart as she stood there, disbelieving, shaking her head. Why did his words hurt so much to speak?

"Win chent…a lotica…"

He had told himself from the beginning that he would not involve himself more than he needed—the Wing Goddess belonged to the Dragons, not the Abaharaki—but he could not simply ignore one who needed him, and he had allowed a companionship to form—and now? He couldn't have, when did _that_ happen? "You have no idea what you are capable of. I know that you're destined for great things if you'll only believe in yourself. If you'll just give yourself the chance, I know that you can shine."

"La la la…" Oh, gods, Niram's song had nearly reached its end, hadn't it? "Shine, Miss Azumi." Leland leaned down and kissed her cheek. "I love you." Oh, gods, had he really said that out loud? He must have, for Azumi gasped.

"Fontina blu cent…"

Leland released her hands. A blast of wind swirled around them. Leland saw realization settle on Azumi's face. _Yes, I'm sending you away. It has to be done. I'm so sorry. Forgive me, Miss Azumi._

"Goodbye, Miss Azumi." Leland's heart felt like a lump of lead as he turned away.

The wind picked up speed. Azumi dashed around Leland and flung her arms around his neck. He returned the embrace, holding her tightly.

Azumi grew lighter and lighter in his arms, fading away.

"…en riga lint."

The song ended. He held nothing. The Wing Goddess had departed from Gaea.


	25. Chapter 25: Balm of Gilead

**Keeper of the Dragon  
Chapter 25 - Balm of Gilead**

The wind died down, leaving Azumi grasping at air. She looked around herself. Home. She had returned home. She stood now in the middle of her bedroom as though nothing had ever happened. The lamp on her low desk lit the room softly, warmly. Her bed waited for her, neatly made. Home. She had returned home. Back to Earth. Away from Brisingamen. Where she would be safe. Away from Leland and Sapir and Riyad. Home. She had returned home.

Her brow furrowed in anger. She had returned home! How could they do this to her? They knew she hated home, didn't they? Niram, Niram of all people, knew how much she had only wanted to get away! How could they send her back home? How could they tear her away from the people she had come to love like family?

She snatched up a porcelain figurine of a cat—maneki-neko, so much for the luck it was supposed to bring—from the top of her dresser and hurled it against the wall. It shattered with a satisfying crash and fell to the floor in pieces. A glass candle lantern followed it. _You told me you loved me! You told me that you'd never let anyone take me away again! Why did you send me home, then? Fine! Abandon me!_ A radio joined the figurine and the lantern. _I hate you, Leland Blackhawk! I hate you! I hate you all! _She grabbed the pillow from her bed and ripped it open. She hurled it against the abused-looking wall, scattering feathers everywhere. _Damn you, Leland! Damn Niram! Damn Riyad! Damn Silas! Damn Gaea!_ The lamp smashed into the wall, plunging the room into darkness. She dropped to her knees, panting with rage. Her hands curled into fists around handfuls of feathers.

The door opened. Azumi's head snapped up. She saw the dark outline of her father silhouetted by the light in the hallway. "Who's in there?" he demanded. He reached over and flicked the ceiling light on. His jaw dropped open. "Azumi!" he gasped. "Sumiko! Sumiko, Azumi's home!" Running feet sounded in the hallway, and a petite, black-haired woman rushed in to bury Azumi in a hug.

"Azumi! Azumi, you're back! We've been so worried about you! Oh, Azumi, when did you get home? Why didn't you tell us you were back?"

Azumi flinched away. She didn't want them to touch her. Why did she act like that? When had that started? Certainly they were not disgusting people. She had not minded when Leland had hugged her, so why did she want to pull away from her mother? Why could she never appreciate the things that they did for her? Why? Why was she so selfish?

Kuronari Sumiko continued to chatter on. "Oh, Yoshi, she's back!" Azumi's father, Kuronari Yoshiyuki, nodded his head, either at a loss for words or too overcome by emotion at the moment to speak them. Azumi's mother released her.

_Finally._

Mrs. Kuronari dabbed at red eyes with her sleeve. "Where have you been all this time, Azumi?"

_Where have I been? If I told you, you'd just punish me for lying. What do you want to hear about first? The people with wings? Or maybe the cat-people. Yeah, you'd believe that._ Azumi stared at her mother blankly.

"Why won't you answer me, Azumi?" Her mother looked up at her father. "Do you think something's wrong with her? Maybe her ears were damaged—CAN YOU HEAR ME, AZUMI?" she shouted. Azumi winced, covered her ears, and nodded.

"Where did those strange clothes come from?" her father asked her. "And that sword?" Azumi looked down at herself. Maybe her Gaean clothes and the sword that Leland had given her would make her tale more believable. Probably not.

"Where have you been all this time?" her mother repeated. Azumi pointed up. Let them figure it out. Was Gaea even up? All those questions were overwhelming her! She just wanted them to leave her alone! Both parents fell silent a moment, trying to puzzle out her gesture. Her mother gave up first, and compensated by launching into what Azumi often thought of as Parental Mode.

"You must be so tired, honey! You look tired! You just sit down and I'll clean this up—go get another pillow for her, Yoshi—and we'll get everything straightened out in the morning!" With a smile she bustled out of the room for a dustpan.

When both parents had gone, Azumi slammed the door shut and locked it. She turned off the light and sat in the dark, fuming.

* * *

The cold of the concrete seeped into her back as she lay on the roof of the school, staring up at the sky. Such a bright and sunny day, but the warmth wouldn't touch her. She felt like those clouds that wandered through the sky. She drifted day after day. How long had she been home, now? A month, maybe? She couldn't even remember what she had eaten for breakfast. She had really gone downhill, she thought. Her parents had given up trying to wrestle the story of where she had gone out of her. She seemed all right, and as long as she kept her grades up, they would leave her alone. Because she was a Good Girl, and she would talk to them if something was Wrong, right? Yeah, right.

The bell had already rung, and Azumi half heard the sounds of hundreds of feet and chattering voices. Time to go home. In a few minutes. She didn't feel like getting up yet.

"Hey!"

Azumi found herself staring into the glittering eyes of a dragon pendant dangling over her face. She sat up slowly and turned around, facing a fellow student with suspicious eyes. She knew this girl, though they had never actually met. What could she possibly want with Azumi? By society's standards, Nishino Midori was not a Good Girl. The rumors had it that she smoked. She pushed the school's dress code to its limits with thick-soled, knee-high boots and ears full of rings. She skipped classes. She swore. She had taken her name to heart and dyed her hair the color of the Token of the Erinyes. What could she possibly want with Azumi?

She stuck out a black-nailed hand. "Midori Nishino. Nice to meet you, Azumi." How did Midori know Azumi's name? "Shit, everybody knows who you are." Was she a Delphi or something, reading minds? "You've been on the news, you know. The girl who mysteriously vanished without a trace." Azumi continued to eye Midori. What did she want? "Anyway, I wanna know if you'll tell me what happened to you. Nobody knows. Hell, I know you didn't get all those scars by falling down a set of stairs!" Midori sat back on her heels and waited.

Azumi pantomimed writing. "Oh!" Midori hunted through the black satchel slung over her shoulder. She thrust a spiral notebook with the helmeted visages of the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers emblazoned its cover at Azumi and, after more digging, produced a pen with a Hello Kitty-shaped pencil-topper stuck on the end. Azumi flipped open the spiral, scrawled out a few characters, and turned it to Midori.

"Go away?" Midori snorted and tossed her head, sending her green ponytail swinging. "Hell, why?"

_Leave me alone,_ Azumi wrote. Midori sat quiet a moment.

"Why won't you talk? I know you talked before you disappeared. I heard you." Azumi didn't see any harm in telling her; she probably just wanted some gossip.

_If I talk he'll come to kill me,_ Azumi wrote. The characters didn't draw any sort of reaction out of Midori, apart from adding to her already-present curiosity.

"Who?"

Azumi smirked. This ought to get her to go away. _A man with golden eyes and black wings._ Midori squeaked.

"You know a guy who can walk on air? Damn, that's so cool! Where the hell have you been, girl, Tencendor or something? Come on, tell me!" she pleaded. Azumi sighed.

_An elf sang some sort of magical song that took me away to another world where everybody told me that I was something called the Wing Goddess and I had to choose who would get to control a god or something named Escaflowne. I was kidnapped by a psycho with dragon wings, and raped by a sadist with black wings. An elf with another god rescued me, and after two cat-women tried to kidnap me again a man with a braid down to his knees confessed his love for me and sent me back home. Once you're done making fun of me, I'm going to go home and bleed myself to death, thank you very much. Happy now?_

Midori stared at the paper. She scanned it once, twice, a third time. She fiddled with a zipper on her boot. "You're not fucking with me, are you?

_No._

"No way!" Midori burst out. "Why do you want to kill yourself? Damn, you've got everything! You're perfect! Why do you want to just give it all up? " After that unbelievable explanation, the only thing Midori found unusual was that Azumi wanted to kill herself? What a freak! _Look who's talking,_ Azumi reminded herself.

_Liar,_ Azumi wrote.

"I'm serious! Shit, you're pretty, you're smart! If I was half the person you are-"

Midori cut off when Azumi shoved the notebook at her and stood abruptly. "Hey!" Midori stuffed the notebook and pen under her arm and chased after Azumi. "What? You don't believe me?" She seized Azumi's shoulder. "I meant all that!"

Azumi snatched the notebook away, scribbled fiercely, still walking, and thrust it at Midori. _No, you don't! I'm nothing! Nothing! Go away and leave me alone!_ Midori's face darkened.

"I know I don't have a great reputation, but you should fucking get to know me before you call me a damn liar. I hate being judged like that. That's how I got that reputation. You always seemed like a nice person to me. I thought you'd be a little more open-minded."

Azumi wrote more. _You think too much of me. Sure, I'm nice enough, but I don't really have any friends. My grades are all right, but I'm not the best. I'm selfish and spoiled and I don't seem to be changing. There's nothing here worth looking up to._

"Azumi," Midori started.

_Just leave me alone! I'm not going to live much longer, anyway! It's just a matter of time before I self-destruct! So don't waste your time! I hate myself, and you can't change that!_

Azumi did not expect the reaction she received. "Why?" Midori asked.

_Why what?_

"Why do you hate yourself so much?"

The question disarmed Azumi. I don't really know.

"You don't really know, huh? Don't you think that you should at least figure out why you're so unhappy before you run off and kill yourself?" Midori questioned.

Azumi suddenly realized that she had fallen into step beside the green-haired girl. "Well?" Midori pressed.

_Maybe,_ Azumi wrote. This weird girl wasn't actually concerned about her, was she?

As soon as they stepped off the school property, Midori reached into her satchel again and fixed more rings in her nose and lip. Azumi winced. Suddenly she could hear her mother's voice in her head, reprimanding her for spending time with this strange girl. The lectures would never end if her parents ever found out.

"You've got more going for you than you realize," Midori continued. "Shit, girl, you know, people are always talking behind your back; they ignore me and think it means I'm not listening. They like you."

_Really?_

"I do a lot of things, but I'm not lying now."

Azumi wanted to sit down where she stood. She didn't understand it. She had everything going for her, and she couldn't be more miserable. Statistically, Midori was the kind of person who would become an alcoholic and die before she graduated, but Midori was perfectly happy. Geez. Azumi had been right. She was selfish.

"Azumi." Midori broke the awkward silence. "Do you want help? 'Cause you damn sure need it."

Azumi wrote, _I need help._

"Great." Midori grabbed Azumi's hand and pulled her in a new direction.

_Where are we going? Azumi wrote hurriedly._

"I think you need cheering up, first of all. You should see your face! You look like your dog just got run over or something!" Midori laughed.

_I don't do that kind of stuff!_

"That kind of stuff? What, you're trying to tell me that you don't believe in having fun? What do you think I'm talking about, drugs or something? Damn, what did I tell you about judging people? I said 'cheering up,' not 'cocaine.' You like peppermint ice cream, don't you? No? Well, they've got Kamakura cheesecake, too. Sugar cures all!"

Again, Azumi heard her mother shouting in her mind. She'd definitely be in trouble if the woman found out about Midori. She could already hear the lecture for it, but, louder than that, she could her Leland's voice. "Shine, Miss Azumi. I love you." Yes, perhaps this Midori could relate to her, could help to put her back together, so that if she ever saw Leland again, she would not have to come back to him broken.


	26. Chapter 26: Sun and Moon

**Keeper of the Dragon  
Chapter 26 - Sun and Moon**

Leland let his arms fall to his sides. "That's it, then." Niram nodded. "It's for the best. We don't need Miss Azumi anymore. She'll be safer at her home."

"You sound as if you're trying to convince yourself that you've done the right thing," Niram observed.

"Do I?" Leland asked, staring at the ground. "My mind tells me that I have, but my heart?" He groped for the right description. "It hurts."

Niram shrugged mildly. "Who can know for certain? But I tell you that I wouldn't have given you your request to send Miss Azumi home if I thought that she should stay. If it was the wrong decision, we've both made it. It's done, don't worry about it anymore."

"Thank you, Keeper."

Leland's eyes fell on the splash of blood on the ground, Demon blood, Kiran's blood. "We should prepare for a fight. Even if we have the Red Demon Clan on our side now, I'm afraid that the Black Dragons and the Gray Griffins are still the stronger. I have no doubt that they'll attack."

Niram nodded once in agreement, turned, and left. Leland followed the Keeper's light footsteps, trying to blot the day's memories out of his mind. Anshu cradling his dying son in his arms. Azumi's face when Leland had told her that he loved her. He still couldn't believe that he had said that out loud. Well, at least she was safe now. And Leland's side had three Armours to the other's two. If attacked, they stood a good chance of winning, despite the fact that the Black Dragon and the Gray Griffin armies were probably better prepared. Everything would end soon, Leland predicted, and, in comparison with recent events, it would end relatively painlessly.

They met with their companions in the Shrine of the Siren as Anshu reluctantly placed Kiran on the floor before the altar.

"Naiades will watch over him," Leland heard Riyad promise, "until he is dedicated to the sea."

Anshu, pushing Kiran's hair back behind his ear, let his fingers linger on Kiran's cheek. "I thank you for your offer, Keeper, but I would prefer to dedicate Kiran to the sun, as my own Clan practices."

"Of course," Riyad agreed.

"Keeper." Silas nodded over his shoulder. "Let's leave him alone for a bit."

"Yes." Riyad stood.

Leland stopped at the entrance of the Shrine with Niram, for there Anil met them. "Where is Miss Azumi?" Anil asked, touching the stone around his neck. "She was with you, wasn't she?"

"She was. We sent her home," Leland answered.

"Home?" Anil gripped the Token of the Dragon. "You sent her home?"

Anshu looked up. "You sent her _home_, Niram?" he echoed angrily.

"Yes," the Erinyes answered calmly. "Is that a problem?"

"Of course it is!" Anil exploded. Anshu stood.

"How could you do something so stupid, Niram?" Anshu chimed in.

"Why shouldn't he have sent Miss Azumi home?" Silas asked, tossing his hair back out of his face, his tone defensive.

"Because I can't summon Escaflowne without the presence of the Wing Goddess!" Anil answered. "It won't come, that's why! I _told_ you that you should have given her to me, Leland!"

"You humans have no business meddling with the Wing Goddess in the first place!" Anshu added, striding toward them. "She doesn't concern you!"

Leland's temper flared. Now he remembered how he could hate Anshu. "Neither does she concern the Demons!" Leland retorted.

Anshu's voice went cold. "On the contrary, we are half Dragon and allied with the Black Dragon Clan. She does concern us."

"But she descended to the Abaharaki!" Leland argued.

"She belongs to _me_ now! You had no right!" Anil snapped.

"Scherazade damn you, could you stop thinking of her as a goddess and start thinking of her as a person?" Leland shot back. "She was miserable here-"

"_All of you, quiet!_" Riyad's words, made loud by his psychic abilities, boomed through the Shrine of the Siren. Leland had never heard Riyad raise his voice so powerfully. All the talking ceased.

Riyad eyed them all, clenching his fists around handfuls of his robes. "Nobody will say another word until I finish! We stand in the Blue Siren Clan, therefore, I dominate this discussion!" All heads nodded. "I'm sick of listening to you all argue! We're falling apart! Leland!" Leland stiffened. Riyad had _never_ addressed him by his name before. "Anshu killed your parents. Get over it. That was years ago, and there's nothing anyone can do about it now. Hating him won't bring them back." Leland frowned. Get over it! Well! It felt extremely odd to be chastised by his own former apprentice! "Anil. Anshu. The Wing Goddess is no longer a concern of the Dragons and the Demons alone. She has affected every Clan on Gaea and every life in this room. The two of you are the only ones who know the Gadarasarai Song. Unless you intend to share your information, stop berating everyone else for failing to have it." He put his hands on his hips and drew in a deep breath. "Now, Keeper Niram," he said, his voice quiet again, "I believe all of our problems could be remedied by returning Miss Azumi to Gaea. Will you do it?"

Niram folded his hands in his sleeves. "No."

"Why not?" Anil demanded.

"Our side has two Armours. Their side has two Armours. The poor girl has been through enough. She is better off at home, I'll not uproot her again so soon. If something happens to Teiring or Naiades, I will not hesitate to bring her back then," Niram answered.

Riyad looked to Anil, smoothing his robes. "You have your answer, Keeper." Anil scowled.

* * *

The halls in Adamanthea became so lonely at night. In the absence of the sun they turned chill, and Leland's footsteps echoed undisturbed by any other noises. He thanked Scherazade for that loneliness right now. He usually did not allow himself to indulge in such things, but tonight, he wanted to sulk.

He supposed that he would adjust. Of course he would. He had always adjusted. So, he had finally admitted it to himself. And to her. For the longest time he had wondered, but he had never found himself strongly attracted to a woman before. He hadn't even known for certain if he had really fallen in love. What was it supposed to feel like, anyway? He didn't know—but if love meant that he had no choice but to smile when he thought of her, that he almost wanted to cry in her absence because he missed her, then he was head-over-heels in it. Now he knew for certain. Obscure, shrouded feelings tended to come out in the open when one realized that one would never see a person again. How quickly he had gotten used to seeing her face, until it seemed like she had always stood by his side! He would never know what she thought of him. He had had her under his care, and she had trusted him, and he had let so many terrible things happen to her. She probably hated him.

Well, in any case, he would never see her again. He tried to order his heart to change. Let her go. He would fare better if he fondly forgot her. But his heart would not listen. So he wandered the hallways, unable to sleep because of his stubborn heart. He could not afford this right now!

He passed closed door after closed door. Gaea stood on the edge of war. He needed to concentrate.

He came to a door that stood ajar. Odd. It should be closed like the rest. Whose room was this? Suspicious, he thought. One could not exercise too much caution in these times. He peered inside.

Anshu lifted his head from his pillow sleepily, his eyes only half awake. "What is it, sweet thing? Nightmares again?" he yawned, reaching a hand out to Leland. The Guild Master's face hardened.

"Pardon me, Keeper," Leland said stiffly. Anshu squinted at him, then—with a sigh of disappointment—let his arm drop. "You should sleep with your door closed," Leland continued. "It's safer." And it felt good to lecture Keeper Anshu about something.

"Not yet. I'm not ready yet," Anshu murmured. "There was hardly a night that I wouldn't hear little feet in the hallway, running to my room. He had so many nightmares for someone his age. Where did they come from, I wonder? I kept him safe enough. Well, conceived in violence and terror. I suppose it's not so surprising."

Conceived in violence and terror? Anshu certainly was not improving Leland's opinion of him. "Your son, I presume?" Leland asked. Well, what else? Kiran had addressed Anshu as "Father".

"No. Kiran was my brother." Anshu propped himself up on one elbow. His eyes glittered in the ribbon of light that streamed through the doorway as he explained Kiran's birth.

Leland felt a twinge of guilt. Again, as he dug his little hole of self-pity he found someone who had fallen even farther down, and climbed back out again without complaint. What had he suffered, compared to Anshu? How selfish—_I think I'm beginning to understand how Miss Azumi's mind works._ He could not let himself fall into the same self-destructive pattern that Azumi had. Leland took a step inside, crossing from the light to the shadows. A small smile touched Anshu's lips. He tossed off his blanket and sat up cross-legged.

"We aren't really so different, are we?" Anshu asked.

"Please explain," Leland told him, ever cautious. What could he possibly have in common with Anshu Falconpointe?

"We both lost something we loved that night. You lost your parents. I lost my little boy. And we've hated ever since."

Leland's face softened. He subconsciously reached up to grip his braid. Anshu had earned him that symbol of authority, in a way. He had never thought of that night in those terms before. He had never thought that anything but cold-blooded murder could have taken place. But, Arvid and Acantha Blackhawk had fought because they feared a Gaea with the "mad" Anshu Falconpointe as the head of the Red Demon Clan, hadn't they? And Anshu? Anshu had fought because to lose meant leaving a child all alone and his Tribe leaderless. No. That wasn't really a slaughter, was it? To tell the truth, Leland could barely even remember anything that had happened that night; it had taken place so long ago.

He stepped closer to Anshu. "When you went in the Pool, Kiran was-?"

"Your age," Anshu finished, "or close to it." Leland's age. At least Leland had known that his parents had died. How had it been for little Kiran, waiting and waiting for Anshu to come home? Anshu had been both Father and Mother to Kiran. Leland remembered his child self standing by the main entrance to the guild-home, waiting day after day for his parents to return from a job, wondering when he would see them again. He tried to imagine what it would have been like to wonder why it took them so long to come home, to resign himself finally to the fact that they would never come home.

Ever since he had pulled Anshu out of the Pool of the Nereids, he had clutched his hatred of the man to him and wrapped it around him like a child's security blanket. It felt like betrayal of his parents' memory to let it go, but by Scherazade, it was too heavy to keep carrying! He was sick of this! Sick of it!

"I don't want to hate you anymore," Leland said softly.

"Well, then." In the shadows, Leland could not tell whether a smirk or a true smile crossed Anshu's face.

Now Leland stood only an arm's length from Anshu. "Are you sorry for what you did to my parents?" he asked.

"No," Anshu replied bluntly. Leland frowned. No? "Does that surprise you, Leland Blackhawk? It shouldn't. I was only trying to stay alive so that I could get back to Kiran and my Clan. Is there anything evil in that?"

"No," Leland admitted.

"Listen to me. Kneel down, you're making my neck hurt looking up at you." Anshu rested his hands on his knees; Leland knelt on the floor before the Demon. "You shouldn't give a damn as to whether I'm sorry. It doesn't matter. That's something _I'll_ have to deal with when I die. I alone. It doesn't concern you. The question is, do you forgive me?"

Leland looked up to meet Anshu's glittering gaze. "How can I?"

"If you had grown up in the Red Demon Clan, you would have learned that you can do whatever you damn well please, and if you try hard enough at it, nobody can stop you. Your forgiveness is yours to give, not a gift in return for my apologies. My apologies are not a prerequisite for your forgiveness." Anshu tilted his head to the side. "So, do you forgive me?" he repeated, more firmly.

Suddenly it grew hard to breathe. "Yes," Leland whispered. "I forgive you." All at once the pressure eased, the weight gone from his shoulders. "I forgive you." His head sunk down to rest against the edge of the mattress as he hid his face in his hands. "I forgive you." He felt Anshu's hand rest lightly upon his head.

"Do you understand?" Anshu asked softly.

"I understand." Oh, he wished he had said those words long ago. He felt so light; he had never felt this peaceful. He wept.

And perhaps Anshu wasn't always the most polite or civil person Leland had ever met, but he knew how to calm a crying child. Leland felt like that now, a child. Anshu stroked his hair with a surprisingly gentle touch that Leland would not have credited to the Demon. "It is time for my own heart to change as well. For my part, I am not sorry, but I do regret that I had to go so far as killing your parents. I may not have liked them, but they were good people." Leland felt like a fool, but he could not stop his tears. He did not look up to see Anshu's own cheeks glistening, did not look up to see that the shadows softened Anshu's sharp features. "Tears come from your heart to tell your mind that something has to change. Let them come, Leland Blackhawk. Hate eats away at you. Purge the wound and it will heal." Leland drew in a deep, shuddering breath and nodded. Anshu's fingers worked through his hair, and he remembered curling up by the hearth with his mother, his head in her lap. His tears washed away the poison that he had carried close to his heart. "I meant it when I said that Brisingamen would die. One way or another, he'll die, that one," Anshu promised. "Then perhaps you can bring Azumi Kuronari Wing Goddess back home. Yes, I know that you love her. Don't shake your head, I'm good at reading people." He smoothed Leland's hair. "It is my experience that the side that fights for love always wins. I believe that's why my little battle with your parents was a draw."


	27. Chapter 27: World Dying

**Keeper of the Dragon  
Chapter 27 - World Dying**

Anshu stood alone that morning. He held a lit torch in his hand. He could easily create fire himself. Torches were ceremonial, somber, serious. He stood there at noon, with the sun at its strongest. Kiran lay on the pyre before him, laid out peacefully, his hands resting over the wound in his chest. Anshu spoke the prayers softly, both to Alseides and to Escaflowne. He kissed his brother, his son, his Kiran, and touched the torch to the pyre. The flames spread quickly, burning, growing. Anshu spread his arms out to his sides and felt the searing heat on his face. His hair crackled as the hot air swirled around him. The smoke rose into the sky, carrying his brother, his son, his Kiran, to the sun. Anshu closed his eyes against the heat…

…and as the flames consumed…

…Anshu fumbled for the cloth that hung loose around his neck, pulling it up over his mouth and nose. The raging fires wouldn't harm him—he was a Demon, and Alseides, The Demon, was the god of sun and flame. The fire could no more burn him than water could drown a Delphi. But the smoke—the smoke belonged to Escaflowne, and it choked him. Damn the Delphi for building their homes out of a stone that could burn! Where was the sense in _that?_

Anshu squinted through the smoke, breathing easier now. He strained to hear above the roaring flames. This was not his idea of the best way to help. But alas, everyone else was too incompetent to do it. Like it or not, it was up to him.

Yes. There. The high-pitched scream. In the room to the left.

He turned the knob too hot for anyone not of his own Clan to touch, and flung open the door. There. The little girl huddled in the corner as far away from the flames as she could get, coughing and crying. The child's screams grew when she spied Anshu. What a frightening figure he must make, he thought, striding calmly forth from the flames, Demon eyes the only facial feature not obscured by the ash-covered cloth around his face.

He knelt, pulling the cloth down for a moment. "I'm here to help you," he told the girl. Immediately she reached out to him. Anshu fixed the cloth back up over his face and scooped the child up, pressing another cloth over her mouth and nose. "I'll get you out of here," he assured her, his voice muffled. Every person he saved was another thorn in Brisingamen's side, another way to spit upon the Dragon. And every child that he found somehow had Kiran's face.

The ceiling cracked. Anshu swore and raced for the door of the burning house. He could certainly die from having a building dropped on him!

As the ceiling collapsed he burst out into the sweet, cool air—well, cooler than inside the burning building, at least. Leland held up a hand to halt the line of Abaharaki hauling water from a nearby well to fight the flames. "This one is finished," Anshu said. "Let it burn."

How Adamanthea had changed. Charred hulks of buildings, many still smoking, ruined the once-beautiful city. It seemed like the same battle took place over and over. In the morning the Delphi army raised a mental shield over the city. The Black Dragon Clan battered it with their green fire until they could attack no more and all the Delphi, even Riyad, had dropped from exhaustion. Then the humans rushed to meet the Erinyes. As the sun set the humans retreated, leaving Adamanthea to nurse its wounds and douse the fires sent raging over the day. The Demon army would surely tip the balance, but they refused to obey Anshu's call until he had recovered Alseides. Luckily, no Armour had appeared on the battlefield yet, and protocol, honor, and decency dictated that an Armour would only fight another Armour, never to mass slaughter as many helpless opponents as possible. Neither would Anshu hunt down Brisingamen yet. Adamanthea needed him too much. Brisingamen would come to him if he waited, like the mouse to the falcon's nest. Anshu had the best chance to find people in these burning buildings. Leland had already gotten himself nearly killed several times accompanying Anshu.

Anshu jerked the cloth off his face and breathed in the cooler air as Leland approached him. Soot streaked the Guild Master's face; his white tunic had gone a dirty gray from the ash. Once he had neatly pulled his hair back from his face; now he twisted the tangled, blonde mess into its braid simply to keep it out of his way.

"That's the last one for tonight, Keeper," Leland told him.

"And this one is an orphan now." Anshu kept a firm hold on the now-squirming child. "I saw her parents burning inside."

Around them, most of the fires had begun to die down, the buildings consumed, the night sky darkening. They just didn't have the manpower to save the Delphi's homes; rather than waste water, time, and strength on that which they could not save, they let the structures burn down to the ground.

"How long's this gonna go on?" Sapir shook her head side to side, flinging her hair about and sending up a flurry of ash, bells ringing wildly.

"I don't know, Kitty," Leland answered sadly.

"Has anybody seen Anil?" Anshu asked.

"We ordered him ta bed as soon as th' battle ended." Sapir explained, examining her bells, tarnished and dull. "He's been fightin' like a madman all day; he's tired, whether he wants ta admit it or not. If we lose 'im it's all for naught, right, Leland?"

"Right," Leland agreed.

"Give her ta me." Sapir held out her arms, and Anshu thankfully handed over the child. Something about the cat-girl always seemed to make the children trust her instantly. "I'll take her ta th' rest. Thanks, Keeper, for everything you're doin' for us. I know ya don't hafta, and don't wanna." The girl latched her arms around Sapir's neck as she picked her way to the makeshift orphanage. Anshu unfastened the golden chain around his neck and toyed with it in his hands, pouring it through his fingers. He did not have to do anything, and he tried to convince himself that he would rather do something else, but Sapir did not know that he could not live with himself if he did nothing. Every time he looked at one of those children, at one of the orphans, he saw Kiran's face. He rested one hand on the pommel of his sword—Brisingamen's sword—that hung from a real sheath at his belt instead of the Token of the Demon's loop. A fitting trade, if not a fair one. Though sharp as flame, one of the finest metal swords Anshu had ever seen, its blade still could not compare with that of the Token of the Demon.

"They can't keep this up much longer," Anshu said. "They've got to be as exhausted as we are."

"If only we had the Demon army," Leland sighed.

"Yes, if only. If only many things. Wishes can keep you going for a time, but they can't feed you. I know.

"Silas Willowcreek comes, Leland Blackhawk."

Leland turned to see the Erinyes, as tired and dirty as the rest of them. He had his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and Leland could see red smears of blood on his hands, staying behind stubbornly after several attempts to wash them away. Silas had spent all his waking hours moving among the rows of the injured, giving healing where he could, closing his eyes and moving on where he could not. He practiced his art armed now—the head of a spear tied somewhat awkwardly on his back jutted over his shoulder. He tossed his hair back out of his face. "Guild Master, I need you," he said.

"What is it?" Leland asked.

"Micah Shadowglen," Silas answered. Leland's heart sank.

"Another one?"

"Another one, Guild Master. He asks to see you."

"Then take me there." Leland nodded to Anshu and followed Silas to the makeshift infirmary. Rows and rows of the wounded, humans and Delphi and Erinyes all alike, lay on blankets or simply on the ground.

Leland had sent out a request to the Abaharaki to help fortify Adamanthea. They had flocked to their Guild Master's call, despite the fact that they would not be paid to fight this one, despite the fact that most were fighting _against_ their own Clans. They had come, and then they had died. Slowly, only a few each day, but Leland had committed the list of names to memory, and it grew fearfully longer with each setting of the sun.

Silas stopped where a human woman with tangled, red hair and a Journeyman's braid knelt on the ground next to a boy no older than Riyad. Two weapons lay forgotten next to them, two metal-shod staffs—one, the woman's, well used; the other, the boy's, newer and charred, broken in half. Redness from crying rimmed the woman's green eyes. Leland knew that the boy's eyes had once been a shade of blue close to his own. Now the boy had only dark, bloody sockets. A blanket hid the boy to the waist, but angry, bleeding burns covered his exposed, blistered skin. His lips were cracked and dry. His brown hair, grown long and tied in a braid in imitation of Leland's own hair, was blackened and singed. The woman, sniffing, patted the boy's hand carefully.

"He won't come, Elen, he won't come!" the boy moaned.

"Of course he'll come, Micah," the woman assured him. "You know you're just as important to him as the rest of the Abaharaki. Journeyman Silas went to get him. He'll come, you'll see."

"I'm here." Leland knelt across from the woman. "What happened to your apprentice, Elen?"

"A man with a sword broke his staff," she mumbled. "They put out his eyes and shoved him in one of the fires. They didn't even think he was worth fighting. I couldn't get him out fast enough. He wasn't ready for something like this; I shouldn't have brought him here. Oh, Guild Master, he's going to die!"

"Guild Master?" Micah's head tilted toward Leland.

"He asked for you, Guild Master," Silas explained. "He wants to speak with you."

"I've come, Micah. See?" Leland touched the boy's cheek, where he had not been burned so badly.

"Guild Master." Micah sounded pleased. "I had to tell you before I die." Now sorrow filled his voice. "I let everybody down. I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you I'm sorry."

"Micah." Leland shook his head. When would these young ones learn? "You haven't failed at all. You're only an Apprentice, not a Journeyman. You've shown remarkable courage to be fighting here at all." Micah smiled at the praise; blood welled in the cracks in his dry lips.

"I couldn't have made it this far without Elen."

"It's my fault!" Elen wailed, wringing her hands. "Oh, Micah, you're my Apprentice, I should have protected you!"

Leland met Silas's gaze. _Watch her,_ his eyes said. _She's on the verge of hysteria._ Silas nodded silently.

"I'm happy, Elen." Micah struggled for his next breath. "I think I'm going to die for something worth dying for."

"I think so too," Leland told him. "You are. You're helping to save Gaea."

"Elen? You'll tell my parents what happened to me, won't you?"

Elen nodded, then realized that her apprentice could not see the movement. "Yeah," she managed. "Yeah."

Micah turned his empty gaze back to Leland. "You've always been my hero, Guild Master. At least, for as long as I've had one." Oh, gods, what could he say to _that?_

"You honor me, Micah," Leland said at last.

"Guild Master, will you and Elen—will you watch over me while I die?" Micah asked. "I know I don't have anything to worry about if you're here."

"Of course, we will. We're both here." Leland took the boy's other hand in his own.

"When will this be over, Guild Master?" Elen asked, lifting her emerald gaze to Leland's. "When will this end?"

"I don't know," Leland admitted. "Soon, the Keepers tell me. Soon. Riyad has seen that something will happen soon."

"You know that we'd all follow you to the stars and back." Elen bowed her head, lifting Micah's hand to her cheek. "It's not so bad if the Journeymen die. We've all accepted that fate. But our Apprentices? They're so young, they've barely lived at all."

"It's all right, Elen." Micah's eyelids fluttered loose over empty sockets. "You told me the risks when you took me as your Apprentice."

"But you weren't supposed to take those risks for another year yet!" Elen argued.

"I don't mind, Elen. Thank you. You've been like a mother to me."

"Micah," Elen sobbed.

"And thank you, Guild Master."

Micah's grip on Leland's hand relaxed.

"May your soul fly to the Great Creator." Leland placed Micah's hand over his heart and drew the blanket up over his head.

"Micah!" Elen lunged for her apprentice. Silas grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back.

"He's dead, Elen," Silas told her. "You can't do anything about it."

Leland frowned disapprovingly at Silas. "You could be a bit less blunt."

"Sorry, Guild Master, but it's pretty obvious." Silas sighed. "Forgive me. You know my temper gets a bit short when I'm tired."

Leland half-smiled. "Your temper is always short."

"I'm working on it."

"Let me go!" Elen twisted herself free of Silas, who stood and worked his head around in a circle.

"Got to get back to work." Glancing up at the sky, Silas froze. "Oh, Scherazade!"

"Scherazade?" Leland stood, one hand going to his braid. "That's not your god, Silas. Are we humans finally rubbing off on you?"

"No, Guild Master, look! _Scherazade!_" Silas pointed.

Leland looked up to see the silver griffin winging toward them in the night sky, reflecting red and orange from the fires. "It's going to land!"

"Dammit!" Silas's eyes flicked to the rows of the wounded on the ground. "Dammit, we can't get them all away!"

"Run!" Leland called, "run if you can!"

Those moving among the injured looked up, spied the Armour swooping toward them, and ran. Elen caught up Micah's body and their weapons and fled. Those who could limped away, or crawled on their elbows. Those who could not move looked at their death approaching and screamed. Scherazade shifted back to its humanoid form and landed squarely in the middle of the infirmary. Bone and flesh crunched beneath its massive feet, blood spread in a crimson stain across the ground. It seized a man on crutches in its hand and tore him in half.

"This is just cruel." Leland shook his head. "The Armours weren't meant to be used like that. This is just cruel."

Scherazade tossed the shreds of the man aside and waited, blood dripping from its fingers. It stood there, a silent challenge. A challenge only two could meet.

"Keeper! Keeper!" A Delphi soldier rushed to Riyad and Niram, who rested together against a toppled pillar. He addressed Riyad. "Keeper! The Griffin Armour! It's here!"

"Oh, Naiades, he's finally challenged us." Riyad pulled himself up to his feet. "He's here to fight. Oh, Naiades, I'm so tired." He grasped the Token of the Siren to pull it from his finger.

"Don't, Riyad." Standing, Niram stopped Riyad with a hand on the boy's shoulder drew the Token of the Erinyes from his tunic. "I'll take care of him. It's better for me to go, you're not used to fighting in Naiades yet."

"Are you certain?" Riyad asked.

"We are in this war together." Niram opened the fan and hurled it into the air. "Descend to me, Teiring!"

The pillar of green light brought the Armour. Niram climbed inside, and the needles jabbed into his skin; Teiring stood, spread its wings wide, and jumped into the sky. If Niram could strike fast, he might catch Divyendu off-guard. By Teiring, Divyendu's actions toward the injured had made a mockery of his god!

Teiring swooped in like the hell-hag that it was, catching Scherazade by surprise. The Griffin whirled around, reaching for its sword, and Teiring's brass talons clawed deep furrows in its back. Blood spurted from Scherazade's bony armor as The Erinyes circled around for another attack.

Niram studied his opponent carefully. His vision blurred, and the Armour leeched away at his blood. He would have to make this quick, before he dropped from exhaustion.

Teiring streaked in. It beat its wings forward; its talons raked out for Scherazade's head.

But Niram did not see The Griffin's sword coming around. Flesh tore and bone snapped, and Scherazade dropped lightly to the ground on one knee, one of In'Nae's legs thudding down beside it.

Niram cried out in shock. "Teiring, return to me!" he gasped. _I'm sorry, Riyad, you'll have to finish this one. I've wounded it for you._ Around him Teiring became a green light that swirled in on itself, becoming solid, becoming the Token of the Erinyes again. Both plummeted.

Niram threw his arms out to his sides to strike the ground as he landed on his back, breaking his fall. Still, the impact knocked the breath from him, he saw stars. The Token clattered down next to him.

He could not breathe!

Niram gaped like a fish tossed onto the shore, struggling to draw a breath.

One of Scherazade's great hands came down on the Token of the Erinyes; another pinned Niram against the ground.

"Keeper!" Leland called.

Niram finally gasped. He drew in a deep breath and screamed.

At its highest pitch, the voice of an Erinyes is a weapon. It can shatter stone and tear through metal. Leland could almost see the waves of sound move in the air. Divyendu screamed as cracks ran through Scherazade's armor, Niram's voice aided by the last few wisps of Teiring's fading presence, and Scherazade reeled back in surprise. Niram took another breath, eyeing Scherazade. Did Divyendu know that this was a last-ditch defense, that he could only pull the trick once? Or would he fall for the ruse?

Scherazade turned away, shifting back into its griffin form, and jumped into the air. Niram flopped down on his back and lay, panting.

"Keeper!" Leland and Silas dashed to Niram's side. "Keeper, are you all right?" Leland asked.

Niram pushed them both away and crawled to the Token of the Erinyes. Frantically feeling through the ash, biting his lip, he gathered the shattered shards into his hands, the sparkling, emerald edges cutting his hands.

"Not Keeper anymore, Guild Master." Silas lowered his head. "Not Keeper anymore. Teiring is gone."


	28. Chapter 28: And in the Dragon's Lair

**Keeper of the Dragon  
Chapter 28 - And in the Dragon's Lair**

After Anshu's desertion of Brisingamen's cause and Nyx and Phaea's deaths, Brisingamen and Divyendu abandoned the Red Demon city of Aesir for the Black Dragon Clan and its black, stone buildings. That in itself caused Brisingamen and Divyendu no problems. In fact, it relieved Divyendu to get out of the Red Demon Clan, even if it meant a move to the Black Dragon Clan. In his time, Divyendu had seen many oddities, and the majority of those oddities had sprung on him in the Red Demon Clan. Strange things, at least by Divyendu's standards, always happened there, and he wished to return to his own Clan as soon as possible. That could not happen with his current pursuits in progress, but even the Black Dragons were a step up from Anshu.

Divyendu wrinkled his nose at the smell of hot, wet hair and broth that wafted on the cool, spring air down the hallway. It smelled like it came from Brisingamen's chambers, too! By Scherazade, what was the boy doing in there? To his knowledge, cooking was not one of Brisingamen's hobbies. And if he had taken it up, what was hair doing in his soup?

Divyendu pushed open the door without knocking. He hadn't knocked before entering a room in years. Brisingamen, bent over a large pot boiling in a large fireplace, straightened, shaking the water from a long-handled, wooden spoon. He had taken off his cloak and draped it over the back of a chair, for the fire had made the room hot.

"What in the name of the gods are you doing?" Divyendu asked.

"I'm boiling a cat," Brisingamen answered in quite a nonchalant manner, as if he boiled cats often. Well, perhaps he did. If he had raped the Wing Goddess, Divyendu would not put anything past Brisingamen. Hell, cats were almost a staple meat in the Red Demon Clan, but there was no accounting for _them._ (Though, Divyendu had to admit that, on the several occasions that his duties as the Keeper of the Griffin had taken him to the Red Demon Clan, he had always found the city remarkably free of strays, and rats, too.) Despite all that, in the old Keeper's book, cat-boiling was _not_ an everyday activity!

"Might I inquire as to _why_ you're boiling a cat?" Divyendu asked. "Have you and Anshu been trading recipes? If you wanted to eat it, you've overcooked it."

"Trading recipes! Eat it! You make me sound like an old woman!" Brisingamen snorted, poking through the remains of the cat with a long-handled spoon, "I don't intend to eat it! I had my fill of cats during my childhood, and they taste horrible, in any case. The ignorance of you humans appalls me at times."

"Ignorance? Because I've never eaten a cat—which I consider myself blessed for, by the way—or because I don't know what you intend to do with the one you're cooking?" Now Divyendu snorted. "Well, then, shall I use my magical Delphi powers to divine your plan for that cat?" he asked sarcastically. "No? Perhaps a cat-woman will pop up and tell me the entire story!"

Brisingamen paused just long enough to look up and splay his free hand over his head in imitation of a spreading wing. It was an obscene Dragon gesture that, if put into words, would mean roughly: "You have flown so high that in your stupidity you have come too close to the sun, and your mind has burned away to nothing." Divyendu, in his ignorance of the other Clans, had no idea as to the meaning of the gesture and thought that Brisingamen was just waving him off. Therefore, Divyendu had no idea that he had been terribly insulted, which pleased Brisingamen all the more.

Brisingamen picked up a handheld mirror, its brightly polished surface sending streaks of light jerking across the walls. Scanning the cat's remains, he plucked a bone out of the wet fur and—to Divyendu's disgust—clamped it firmly between his teeth.

"Good gods, you're as mad as Anshu!" Divyendu muttered.

"I am not." Apparently dissatisfied with the results, Brisingamen tossed the bone back into the cauldron with a wet plop and selected another. He probably spoke the truth. Had it been Anshu boiling the cat, Divyendu would have gotten the bone spit across the room at his head. "Cats are special. Oh, most of them are ordinary enough. You have to find one that's your inverse, which is hard for most people. It's easy enough for me, though. This one had black fur and purple eyes." He paused to stick the bone in his teeth and look into the mirror. "One's inverse has a bone in its body that, when held in the teeth, will turn the correct person invisible."

"Nonsense," Divyendu huffed. "Children's stories."

The look on his face when Brisingamen finally disappeared was both priceless and highly satisfying.

Brisingamen tossed the bone on the table. "Children's stories? Really?" he asked mockingly, scraping the rest of the cat's remains into the cauldron and dumping the whole mess out the window. "You're not dead, Divyendu, so I assume you accomplished what you wished?"

"Even better," Divyendu boasted. "Teiring is gone."

"Gone?" Brisingamen's golden eyes widened. "You destroyed it? What about Escaflowne? I thought you meant to kill it."

"Escaflowne did not join the battle," Divyendu answered matter-of-factly.

"There's no way that my righteous twit of a brother would let Niram and Riyad fight by themselves." Brisingamen threw back his head and laughed. "Those fools! They sent her back to the Mystic Moon, didn't they? Now Anil can't summon Escaflowne at all! Ah, this is even better than I could have hoped!"

Brisingamen grew serious. "But they'll bring her back now that Teiring is gone. They _need_ Escaflowne now."

Divyendu shook his head. "It was all for nothing, then. Niram screamed." He grimaced at the memory. "And Teiring aided his voice, so he managed to damage my Armour."

"So what?" Brisingamen sniffed. "They can't do that more than once."

Divyendu sat up straighter. "What?"

"You didn't know?" Brisingamen asked. "After an Erinyes screams like that, he loses his voice. Oh, it'll come back, eventually, but it takes time." Judging from the way Divyendu's bushy eyebrows knit together, he hadn't known that. Humans.

"Well, he got Teiring's claws into Scherazade before I could take him down," Divyendu added defensively. "It needs time to heal."

Brisingamen regarded the crack running down the Token of the Griffin's blade with contempt. "It was even better than you wished? You mean to tell me that you wanted one of them to injure Scherazade?

"Of course not! You know what I mean! _Compared_ to my success, I'd call it a minor consequence." Divyendu waved a gauntleted hand casually. "It will heal itself soon enough. How goes _your_ training with Alseides?"

Brisingamen frowned, reluctant to confess that he had not had as much success as he had hoped. "Well enough. It accepts my control, but it seems a bit confused. Was Scherazade like that when you first became Keeper of the Griffin?"

"Of course not!" Divyendu scoffed. "I am the rightful Keeper of the Griffin! You, you're not the Wing Goddess or the Keeper of the Demon. You're an impostor, of course Alseides is confused!"

"Well, it obeys me, nevertheless. That's all that matters."

Brisingamen picked up the Token of the Griffin and studied its silver surface. "You said that Niram did this, tired as he must have been at the end of the day's battle? Should we fear from them?"

"Bah!" Divyendu scoffed, "you said yourself that Anil can't summon Escaflowne, did you not? Niram no longer has an Armour, and Riyad barely knows how to control his. No, we have nothing to fear from them."

"Unless Niram brings the Wing Goddess back," Brisingamen reminded him.

"He can't. Not yet." Divyendu seated himself in a chair and propped his booted feet up on the table. "He screamed, remember?"

"How long does it take an Erinyes to recover from that?" Brisingamen questioned.

"How should _I_ know that? Am I a healer? Do I have pointed ears?"

Brisingamen frowned and shoved Divyendu's feet off the table. "All right, then, who do you think will heal faster, Niram or Scherazade?"

Divyendu cursed under his breath. "Niram will, probably. Niram's lost his voice, I didn't rip out his gods-damned vocal cords."

"Pity." Brisingamen gave Divyendu a half-sarcastic, half-hopeful look. "You don't suppose you could go back and do that, could you?"

"Go yourself."

Brisingamen rolled his eyes, poured a glass of dark wine from a decanter on the table next to the mirror, and pulled the shutters closed across the open window, darkening the room. Light pouring in through the slats made lines across the floor and walls. "I hate the spring air," he muttered. "Anil was born in the spring, when the white honeysuckle blooms."

"I really don't understand why you're so upset in the first place," Divyendu commented. "Out of the two, the Black Dragon Clan was the greater to begin with, and look what you've made it into."

"I don't care about that!" Brisingamen's hand tightened around the delicate stem of the goblet, his brow furrowing in frustration. "You know that the White Dragon Clan is the greater! The Black Dragons are the same as a nobleman's second born son! We're always the villains, the suspected ones! I _wanted_ the White Dragon Clan!"

"You can't kill everyone who displeases you, there won't be anyone left on Gaea," Divyendu remarked.

"Watch me." Brisingamen took a drink of the blood-colored wine. He hurled the goblet into the fireplace, and the thin crystal shattered; the flames flared up as the alcohol caught fire. "I can kill them all. I'll grind my little brother under my heel for good."

"I'm beginning to wonder who's the madder," Divyendu muttered, "you or Anshu."

"I am not mad!" Brisingamen argued. Again, he probably spoke the truth. Anshu was mad, and Anshu would have eaten the goblet instead of throwing it into the fire. "I am only taking back what should have been mine!"

"All right, all right! Enough of your sibling rivalry! You've bored me with this before!" A distracted expression of amusement crossing his face, Divyendu half-wondered whether Anshu was actually capable of eating a crystal goblet. Maybe he gave Anshu a bit too much credit.

"If you're bored, you can leave," Brisingamen told him angrily.

"Oh, no, I thought I might stay. What are you going to boil next? A dog?"

"I thought I might boil Leland Blackhawk's little blue cat-girl next. How about that?" Brisingamen's eyes narrowed slyly, ruining whatever charm his smile would have otherwise had.

Divyendu straightened in his chair. "You're serious, aren't you?" he asked. Brisingamen's eyes hardened in annoyance, and he did not answer. "Anshu was too much of an influence on you when you were small," Divyendu finished.

Brisingamen had no comment for that one. Instead he faced the window, folding his arms and peering out through the spaces between the shutters' slats. Divyendu thought of himself as far above Brisingamen. He did not realize that Brisingamen could read him as easily as a child's book. Whatever power Brisingamen gained from this, Divyendu thought to trick, coerce, or wrest it away. Because of his former relationship with Anshu, Divyendu looked down on the both of them as ignorant fools. He was wrong. Divyendu's biggest flaw was that he underestimated everyone, looked down on everyone. And as soon as Escaflowne and Anil died, he would realize that mistake.


	29. Chapter 29: Tell me, if my sanity is a c...

**Keeper of the Dragon  
Chapter 29 - Tell Me, If My Sanity is a Cliff and I am Hanging From the Edge by My Fingertips, and I Fall, and No One Catches Me, What Will Happen When I Reach the Bottom?**

Azumi sat idly at her desk, twirling her pen on the tips of her fingers. She crossed her legs, uncrossed them, and crossed them again. She sat up with her feet tucked under her, sat normally with her feet on the floor, sat up on her feet again. She could not sit still today. The school's air temperature regulation system seemed to have only two settings—the inside of Hell's fireplace, or a cold front in the middle of the winter on Pluto. Today it treated the students to Hell, and in her school uniform, she found the stuffy air extremely distracting. A rotating fan placed in the doorway wafted cooler air into the room, but the draft died out just short of reaching her. The heat and the droning of her teacher's voice made her sleepy; it took all of her effort just to stay awake, just to keep her eyes open.

Azumi checked her watch again. _Hurry up,_ she urged the bell. _Ring!_

Outside, the cloud that had cast a welcome shadow over the room moved away, and light poured hot and bright through the window again. Azumi glared at the sky.

The bell rang. Well, it hardly qualified as a bell—noise more closely described it—but, bell or noise, it still set them free at the end of the day. Azumi caught up her books, slung her purse over her shoulder, and moved to the door as quickly as she could without actually running—because, after all, running went against school policy, and breaking school policy would only keep her in this place even longer. She shouldered and shoved her way past the students standing at inconvenient intersections, walking ridiculously slow, or—worst of all, in her humble opinion—kissing each other by the lockers, where everyone who passed could not avoid seeing them. Why do they have to stand around and get in everyone's way? Oh, good gods, get a room, people! I think I'm going to throw up! She rolled her eyes at a teacher who stood in the middle of the hallway holding high a cardboard arrow and proclaiming that all students must walk to the right. She crossed over to walk down the left, just to defy him, though he looked as much displeased with his task as the students who had to obey him did.

Azumi found Midori waiting for her outside, as she always did, leaning casually against a flagpole. "Azumi!" Midori grinned and held up a foot to display a pair of neon-green shoes that would surely give an onlooker a seizure should she try to run in them. "Whaddaya think?" Azumi gave her a thumbs-up. Midori laughed and struck a pose with a jingle—she wore a necklace made of bells today, too, a gift from Azumi to cheer Midori up—or, rather, to calm her down—after a teacher had taken away her spiked collar. She reminded Azumi of Sapir, with all those bells. A green Sapir. Azumi missed Sapir.

The two started walking. "Hey, we can't talk long today, all right? I've got to dye my hair tonight," Midori pointed to the black roots evident in her green hair, "and it's gonna take me awhile. Hell, the last time I spent at least an hour trying to make the sink not green anymore."

Now, Azumi half-smiled. She and Midori had begun to learn sign language together, and she displayed one of the gestures now. _Clumsy._

"Hell, yeah! My hands turned green for a week! You'd think I had strangled a leprechaun or something!" Midori snickered. "Unless you think you'd like to help me out this time? You might look good with green hands. We could strangle leprechauns together."

Azumi restored back to the trusty Power Rangers spiral notebook. _I can't. I already got the lecture of a lifetime when my mother found out that I've been to your house. I'm not ready for another one yet._

"Gotcha." Midori pulled Azumi's hair back behind her ear to view the earrings that she wore, cleverly designed to look like Chinese dragons climbing through the wearer's earlobes. "I think I'm a bad influence on you," she joked.

_Define "bad". In some people's minds, yes._

"Forget about them. I told you, it doesn't matter what other people think about you. I know they're your parents, but, fuck them. If you're happy with yourself, then that's good enough, and it should be good enough for them, too."

_Right. That'll be the day,_ Azumi wrote.

"So, how do you feel about yourself today, Azumi?" Midori asked with a knowing smile on her face. It had become tradition for their discussions to start off with that question.

_I hate myself today,_ Azumi wrote. School had put her in a blunt mood.

"Elaborate," Midori told her. Azumi fished a paper out of her bag and handed it to Midori for her inspection. Midori examined it. "What's wrong with this?" she asked.

_It's an A._

"Yeah?"

_An A minus._

"Yeah?"

_On a major test._

"So?"

Azumi sighed. _I can hear my mother's voice right now. "That's almost a B, Azumi."_

"Azumi, your grade is fucking good!" Midori rolled her eyes and handed the paper back. "What is that woman smoking? No offense," she added quickly.

_Don't apologize, I agree._

"Cs are average, Bs are above average, As are way above average. You're doing great, Azumi. Forget about her."

_You don't have to live with her._

"I feel for you, girl."

_Azumi looked up at the sky, thoughtful. I wonder what's happening back on Gaea?_

"Probably war," Midori answered.

_But, it's all over, Azumi argued. I chose the Keeper of the Dragon, and they sent me back home. What else is there?_

"War, girl, war. There's always something to fight about, especially for the guy who didn't get what he wanted."

_But, what do they have left to fight for?_ Azumi wondered.

"Even if you exaggerated what you told me, a guy like that Brisingamen dude won't give up that easily." Midori nodded. "I've known a few people who acted like him. He'll keep grabbing for power until either he gets it or someone kills him."

_Do you think they miss me?_

"Hell yeah! I'll bet that Leland guy is walking around Adam-whatever like a lovesick—a lovesick—" Midori shrugged, at a loss for an effective comparison. "Person." She winked at Azumi. "And hey, that Anshu guy sounded pretty hot. Take me with you when you go back, all right?"

_It won't be up to me._

"Why not?" Midori poked her in the arm. "You're a goddess, aren't you? I'd say that means that you can go wherever the hell you want, whenever the hell you want, and you can take whoever the hell you want along with you. Who's going to stop you? One of those mere mortals?" she laughed.

_Easier said than done! Don't you think I've tried to go back? I don't know how! If I ever was a goddess, who knows if I'm still one now?_

"Oh, you'll figure it out. When it matters most, you'll figure it out," Midori told her. "Don't sweat it. You've got an open mind."

_A lot of good that does me._ Azumi twirled in a circle, suddenly wistful. You know, I hear that drowning is a lot like doing drugs. I've been thinking about that a lot, even before I went to Gaea. You get all happy and sleepy before you go. It's because of the lack of oxygen getting to your brain, same as when somebody gets high. Except that you don't ever come out of it. What do you think?

"Can't say I've ever thought about it." Midori bit her lip. "You sure think about death a lot, don't you?"

_Every day._ Azumi's face turned completely serious. _Midori, you don't think he can get to me here, do you?_

"You sure think about that a lot, too." Midori looked like she wanted to say something silly and irrelevant to get Azumi off the current topic of conversation, but she remained silent and serious.

_Every day._ Azumi cast a nervous glance over her shoulder. _He hates me. He wants to kill me. I had a dream about him, Midori. He wants me dead._

"The only way he can get here is if that Niram guy sings him here, right?" Midori asked. "And Niram is on your side, right?"

_Right,_ Azumi agreed. She paused. _Ever since I got back I've been seeing things, she began. Sometimes it's things from on Gaea. Sometimes I don't even know what I'm seeing. But I know that he hasn't forgotten about me yet. He's going to come for me! I know he is, Midori!_

"Azumi! Calm down!" Midori caught Azumi's rapidly writing hand. "Azumi? You know that I'm always here to help you." Azumi nodded. "But, have you ever thought about getting some professional help?"

_Professional?_ Azumi's face clouded. _You mean, like the police? What do I tell them, that a guy with pointy teeth, golden eyes, and a sword is out to get me? They wouldn't believe me._

"No, I mean like a councilor or a psychiatrist."

_You don't believe me about Gaea?_

"No, I do!" Midori assured her. "I didn't say that, Azumi, you're putting words in my mouth! Listen, I don't know if my help is doing you any good. I'm not a psychiatrist, and Azumi, can you really go the rest of your life looking back over your shoulder like this?"

_Maybe,_ Azumi wrote defensively. Midori's words had truth in them, though.

Midori jerked a thumb behind her. "I've gotta go. Will you be all right getting home?"

_Yeah._

"You sure about that?"

_Yeah._

"I'm worried about you, Azumi."

_Thanks._

"I'll see you later, then. If you need me, call me. You know my number. I'll come right over." Midori turned and left.

Azumi walked to the bus station. She boarded the next bus that came, took her seat, and waited for it to take her home.

She could not shake the feeling of someone watching her. She glanced at the people around her suspiciously. Could one of them be Brisingamen in disguise, come to take her away and hurt her again? Leland said that he wouldn't let anyone take her away and hurt her again, but Leland wasn't here! How could he protect her if he wasn't here? What if someone walked up and grabbed her right now? Leland would never see her again, he would never know!

Azumi heard the brush of feathers against metal. An old woman with long, white hair took the seat next to Azumi, setting a birdcage in her lap. The black bird inside peered at Azumi with yellow eyes.

Azumi stared at the bird. It shifted on its perch, watching her.

He was coming for her. She knew it. Maybe he—maybe he had already come. He was tricky and sneaky, he was probably good at disguises. He could be anyone in disguise—the old woman, even that bird. He had magic, after all, did he not, or something like it? Dragon magic?

Azumi stood. She had to get out. She had to get away. Right now.

When the doors opened, Azumi sprinted off the bus.


	30. Chapter 30: Bleach

**Keeper of the Dragon  
Chapter 30 - Bleach**

"I don't like it." Leland slumped with exhaustion into the elaborately etched chair. "I don't like it at all."

"Of course ya don't!" Sapir agreed. "They just pull out all of a sudden? They're plannin' somethin', ya can count on that! Unless they did it 'cause they knew it would make us suspicious, and they're just tryin' ta throw us off again. Ya never can really tell, can ya? Good grief!"

"At least they haven't brought out Scherazade or Alseides," Anil noted. "We can all thank our respective gods for _that._"

Leland nodded his agreement. "How goes Riyad's practice with Naiades?" He asked, looking up to address Anshu.

Anshu shook his head and leaned against the back of Leland's chair. "How did his practice go when you first taught him to shoot a bow? It's the same circumstance. This is not much better. Brisingamen will have the advantage over Riyad. His teacher has an Armour to help him with Alseides." Anshu's face darkened at the thought of Brisingamen. "One of these days I'll kill him."

"How long will it be until we can bring Miss Azumi back?" Leland asked, hope in his eyes. Niram opened his mouth to reply and Silas, entering the room balancing a bowl of steaming water, interrupted.

"Don't answer him, Keeper. Your voice will come back sooner if you don't try to talk." Niram nodded in apology and took the bowl from Silas.

"Here, Healer. I went back home yesterday to get these." Anshu tossed Silas a bundle of three aqua-colored roses, their needle-thorned stems tied together with a string. Mint-roses grew by the house he had grown up in, Kiran had reminded him. He had not been home in a long time, not to _that_ home.

"Thanks." Silas plucked the petals off one by one and dropped them into the hot water. As Niram stirred it with a finger the water darkened to a greenish-blue; a pleasant, minty smell filled the air. Niram tossed a towel over his head, cupping the bowl in his hands, and inhaled the steam deeply.

Leland subconsciously lifted a hand, as he always did, but instead of gripping his braid, he pressed his palm to his chest, massaging the area over his heart as through trying to work the pain out of a sore muscle.

"It hurts, doesn't it?" Anshu asked softly. "Your body is untouched, yet you ache, don't you?" Leland looked up at the Keeper, startled, then down at his hand as though unaware of his own actions.

"It hurts," he agreed. Anshu nodded sympathetically. Silas glanced over.

"Are you feeling all right, Guild master?" he questioned. Leland nodded.

"I'm fine, Silas. Don't worry about me."

Anshu sighed, and smiled, the kind smile he had reserved only for Kiran. "You will see her again, you will, Leland Blackhawk. Of that I am sure."

The door eased open again, and Riyad peered in. "Guild master?" he asked. That tone in Riyad's voice immediately worried Leland. He had come to recognize that tone. Something had gone wrong.

"You've found her?" Leland asked.

Riyad closed the door behind him. "It took a long time. She's stopped reaching out to us like she used to. It almost feels like she's dead—well, not _dead_, but almost dead. Like her body is still here, but her mind and her spirit have gone."

"But, you've found her?" Leland repeated.

"Yes, Guild master," Riyad replied. "I lost sight of her, but I found her briefly, for all the good it will do us."

"How is she?" Riyad deliberately avoided Leland's gaze, engrossing himself with the floor. "How is she?" Leland repeated.

"She's crying, Guild master, when she feels anything at all," Riyad replied finally. "She's angry. And she's afraid and confused and lonely. But mostly, she doesn't feel anything at all."

Leland clenched his fists. He wanted to beat his head against the wall. "That's no better than when she was here!" They had sent Azumi home in the first place so that she could enjoy life again!

"You will right it." Anshu rested a hand on Leland's head, reassuring him. "You will right it, Leland Blackhawk."

"Where is she, Riyad, exactly?" Silas asked. "Surely she's not at home? She couldn't possibly be that unhappy in her own home."

"I-I don't know, exactly," Riyad stuttered. "It has a very strange feel to it. Mama looked too, and she can't figure it out, either. It's definitely not her home. Her surroundings don't have any life to them. It's like someone drained the aura right out of them. I can't even get a clear image. I can't see anything but white. I don't think she's in any trouble, though. I think she's safe. Well, I think."

"Lifeless, huh?" Anil opened the shutter across the window. The light came in gray and weak, somehow holding no warmth in its rays. Adamanthea lay in virtual ruins, the beautiful, bluish stone now rubble on the ground. Plants formerly green had gone brown and dying. "The whole city will have to be rebuilt, at the very least," Anil observed. "Lifeless? Wherever Miss Azumi is, it doesn't sound so different than here."

* * *

She clenched a handful of the soft, white, cotton gown, drawing the hem up from her shins on one side. She clutched it until her knuckles turned white, too, like everything else. With her other hand she gripped the forearm of the white-clad woman that walked patiently next to her. She shuffled slowly in her white slippers across the cold, white-tiled floor. The bright, white lights hurt her eyes. Before they had left her room, the woman had brushed her hair for her and tied it back at her neck with a white ribbon so that it did not hang in her face. White, white, white, white. Forever white. The white drew her in and drowned her.

She stopped walking. Usually her eyes, though not bright, still had life in them. They still had life, except when she stopped. Then they went utterly blank, as though she stood viewing something far away, something that her eyes alone could see.

"Azumi," the nurse urged her gently. The strange look left Azumi's eyes, leaving her face pained and sorrowful, and they continued.

They passed through a white door, and the nurse sat Azumi down in a white chair, at a white table, across from a man wearing a white coat. White paper and a white pen sat on the table before her. She hated the white. She hated the white.

"How are we today, Azumi?" the smiling man asked. Azumi picked up the pen and wrote Fine in black ink. "Have you been sleeping well?" the nice man asked nonchalantly. Azumi declined to answer him this time. She started coloring the white paper black with the pen. Too much white. Kill the white. "I'd like to talk to you about this 'other world', Azumi," the man started, lacing his fingers together. Azumi shrugged. "You say that people who can fly live on this world?" he asked. Azumi nodded. "How do they do it?"

Azumi stopped her scribbling. _They have wings, of course,_ she wrote. _The people in the White Dragon Clan have white wings, and the people in the Black Dragon Clan have black wings, and the people in the Red Demon Clan have dragon wings._

"Really? And how did they get these wings?"

Oh, forget the Dragons and the Demons! They didn't believe her here. She wanted Midori. Midori believed her. Midori never wore white. She had not seen Midori in a long time. Midori had tried to visit, but they would not let her in. Azumi missed her. How many times had she wanted to just give in and tell them that she had changed her mind, that Gaea did not exist? But, that would betray the Abaharaki and Leland and everything that they had done for her. She would rather die in this place than turn her back on them like that.

_They're born with them,_ Azumi wrote, returning her thoughts to the subject of the Dragons and Demons. _I don't know. I'm a human. They're not._ She wished that he would shut up. He was making fun of her, she knew it.

"Do they-"

A crash in the hallway whipped the no-longer-smiling man's head around. Midori flung the door open, bringing in green and black, a splash of color to break the unrelenting white.

"Azumi! Dammit, I had to fucking storm the castle to get in here!" she exclaimed.

A disheveled nurse rushed in after Midori, straightening her uniform. The green-haired girl had obviously forced her way up to the room. "The Kuronari family informed me that a Nishino Midori was not to be allowed anywhere near Kuronari Azumi-"

"Screw that!" Midori burst out, "she's my friend! What the hell do you think I'm going to do to her?" She hugged Azumi. "I've missed you, girl."

_They think that I'm crazy,_ Azumi signed to her.

"You're not crazy!" Midori assured her. "Don't let them make you think you're crazy! They just don't understand!"

The nurse pulled Midori away from Azumi by her green ponytail. "You'll be coming with us, young lady."

"Dammit!" Midori shoved the nurse away. "She's not insane! Look, lady, I'm her _friend!_ You think I'm going to try to hurt her?" The nurses caught Midori's wrists and twisted them behind her back. "You're the Wing Goddess, Azumi! You're a goddess! A goddess! You can get yourself out of this goddamned place! Azumi!"

"Young lady, you are not helping this patient's recovery! In fact, you are doing quite the opposite!" the doctor hissed. Midori brought the thick sole of her boot down on his polished shoe, and he yelped in pain.

"She doesn't _need_ your kind of help! She needs to be back with the people who really care about her!" Midori yelled. "Look at her!"

The doctor and nurse looked to Azumi. Her eyes had gone blank again, and she sat ramrod-straight, all her muscles tensed as though preparing for flight. In her mind she saw not Midori, but Leland. She saw a Leland with his hair cut short at his chin. She saw a Leland weeping. When after she returned to her world had these visions begun? When would they cease?

"You can get yourself out of this terrible place, Azumi!" Midori urged. "You've got to get out of here! Hurry!"

Azumi's eyes cleared. In that moment she found her voice again. She found her voice, and she used it to scream. She stood and shrieked like a banshee, twisting her fingers through her hair, pulling out the white ribbon.

"_I know you're there!_" she shouted at the ceiling. "_I know you're listening to me! Why are you doing this to me? Why? Just show me!_" She threw her arms out to her sides. "_I know you can hear me! What do you want from me? Just show me what's going to happen! Show me!_

**_Show me!_**" she screamed.

The white exploded.

Midori jerked her arms free and cast a satisfied glance at the other three people as Azumi vanished. "Do you believe her now?"

* * *

The white had not gone away yet. But, now it had no form, and it stretched in all directions to infinity. Azumi looked down at the white ground and saw nothing definite under her feet, yet she knew that she stood on something solid.

A yellow-clad, blonde man lay spread-eagled at her feet, a magnificent, golden bow clutched in his hand. He looked like he had lain there for a long time, and he had not come to rest there peacefully. Sprawled several feet away from him was a bronze-haired woman in green, with bronze-feathered wings folded at her back. She, too, was lying very still.

Soft footsteps whipped Azumi's head around, and she met the intense, crimson gaze of another man leaning upon a silver spear. His battered, red armor and tattered, ebony cloak had seen many battles. His jet-black hair hung shoulder-length in his face, making those red eyes all the more imposing. Flame danced in those eyes. The mere force of his presence felt like it might knock her over and crush her. He studied her intently, then—to Azumi's shock—he dropped to one knee and bowed his head reverently, placing the spear on the ground.

Azumi turned, and there stood a golden-haired knight in shining silver armor, a navy-blue cloak thrown back over his shoulders, a silver sword at his belt. In contrast to the red man, his bearing was regal, and she saw the moon in his eyes, yet she could feel power from him as well. Somehow, he reminded her a bit of Leland. His clear, blue eyes, too, studied her, and he knelt, bowing his head and placing a hand over his heart.

And there to her right—before her, when she turned again—was a raven-haired woman in flowing, blue robes. Black feathers swept back in a bird's wings from her arms. She was all serenity and calm, like a quietly flowing stream, and she brought a sense of beauty into the mix. She smiled at Azumi before sinking to her knees and averting her gaze.

A fourth completed the circle around Azumi. He took off his white helm and tucked it under his arm as he knelt, black hair falling in his brown eyes. He bowed his head, and Azumi could see the hilt of a sword jutting over his shoulder. His black-lined, white cloak fanned out behind him. His presence, if that was the best way to describe the feelings that these strange people brought forth, was barely controlled chaos. He looked familiar, too. He reminded her of Anil.

"Who are you?" Azumi whispered. "What do you want?" Her voice sounded strange, after not using it for so long.

"You summoned us, Wing Goddess. You called for us. 'Show me,' you bid of us. As the Wing Goddess commands, we obey." The red man stood, lifting his spear. "I am Alseides."

The silver man stood. "I am Scherazade."

The blue woman stood. "I am Naiades."

Azumi looked to the white man as he stood, replacing the helm on his head. "And you?" she asked. She already knew.

The white man _shifted_, and his armor turned black; his cloak darkened and split into tatters. "I am Escaflowne."


	31. Chapter 31: Surreal

**Keeper of the Dragon  
Chapter 31 - Surreal**

Azumi started. "Escaflowne?" she asked hesitantly.

Escaflowne , and his armor turned once again white, his cloak white and whole. "I am who I say. We can hide nothing from the Wing Goddess."

"And them?" Azumi asked, looking to the two on the ground.

Naiades indicated the green woman with a slender, white hand. "You know this one. She and her Keeper bore you from Aesir. This is Teiring."

"What's wrong with her?" Azumi questioned. "Why is she just lying there?"

"I destroyed her," Scherazade answered softly, bowing his head. "My Keeper bade me to destroy her. Her body has been annihilated, her soul killed. I had to obey. She will lie here forever, never to return to Gaea."

"And the man next to her?" Azumi looked to him. Surely, she had not seen _him_ before; he did not look the slightest bit familiar.

"He died a very long time ago," Escaflowne explained. "Alseides killed him during the Choosing of the first Keeper of the Dragon. You have never met him, and few even remember him. He is Chafaris, the guardian of the Yellow Kirin Clan."

"Kirin?" Azumi dropped her arms to her sides. "I've never heard of that Clan."

"You see, Wing Goddess, at the beginning of time the Great Creator assigned each of us to protect a Tribe," Alseides explained to her, his eyes glittering behind his dark hair.

"You came later," Scherazade interjected, eyeing him. "You weren't there at the beginning of time."

"I came later," Alseides consented. "We are gods in the same sense that you are a goddess. When one of us dies, the Clan will eventually die as well. Tell me, how many animal-people have you ever seen?"

Azumi thought back to all the people she had met. "Three."

"That is because Chafaris can no longer protect them," Alseides concluded.

Azumi turned to Escaflowne. "You four are the ones who keep sending me these visions!" she realized. The ones who had sent all those images of Gaea to torment her days in the asylum back on Earth.

"Yes," Escaflowne answered, _shifting_ back to his black-armored self.

"Why?" Azumi demanded, brow furrowing. She had not felt such a swell of emotion in some time. "They hurt! Why do you keep making me see those things?"

"We could not allow you to forget Gaea, Wing Goddess, and how else could we keep your memory strong?" Scherazade answered. "And we must prepare you for what is to come."

Azumi turned from the white knight to the silver knight. "Why does it matter? You're done with me, aren't you?" Her bit in this whole affair had ended. She picked the Keeper of the Dragon. She didn't have to do any more than that, right?

"No," Scherazade told her. "Gaea still needs you." But, what else _could_ she do?

"Without you, Anil cannot summon my body," Escaflowne told her.

"_Why?_" Azumi pressed. "Why do you need me?"

"Because as you can see, I am not entirely whole," Escaflowne continued. "Here, I am in control, but my Keeper can only speak with half my soul. I may forget the other half entirely as soon as Anil calls me."

"But we cannot ignore the Wing Goddess if she calls," Scherazade continued, his face darkening.

"Escaflowne agreed when his Clan split. He won't go unless there's someone there who can speak with all of his being," Alseides finished. "You, namely."

"Why?" Azumi demanded. "Why _me_? It's not like I have some special talent that made you choose me!"

"The task falls to the one who needs it the most," Naiades explained, the tone in her voice making it clear that she tried to speak patiently and simply, so that Azumi would understand. "A heart that has felt no suffering cannot make the decision as clearly as one that has, no matter how well-intentioned that heart is. Niram looked out into the stars and he chose you, Wing Goddess, because the task falls to the one who most needs a new breeze to lift him up and help his wings find the wind. Do you understand now?"

"He picked the most suicidal person he could find?" Azumi asked, depression seeping into her voice.

"No! It isn't that difficult to understand!" Escaflowne growled. Impatient like Anil.

"You're frightening her, Escaflowne!" Naiades chided. She stepped up to Azumi. "You told us to show you what will happen, Wing Goddess." She took Azumi's head between her white hands.

"Will it hurt again?" Azumi asked.

"Very much, I'm afraid," Naiades told her with apology. Pain flared where Naiades's fingers touched her.

_A blue-eyed cat bared its teeth and hissed, and a dark man seized the cat roughly, took its head in one hand, and tore it free, and bone flashed white amid blood and matted fur and-_

_A green man stood guard as a fire burned around him, and silver wind flashed and his stomach split open, spilling blood and entrails on the ground, and-_

_Two shining, white figures waited together, and then the fire surged and they shone no more, the stink of burned flesh filling the air, and-_

More colors came, but Azumi tore herself away from Naiades and fell to her knees, vomiting violently. "No more!" she wept, covering her head with her hands. "I don't want to see any more!"

"As you wish, Wing Goddess." Naiades stepped back, folding her hands.

"That's so terrible!" Azumi stood slowly, clutching at her aching head, bent over double, looking down at her feet. "How can you let that happen?"

"We can do nothing alone," Scherazade answered. "Our Keepers must act."

"Then, who can stop it? Can _I_ stop it?" Azumi asked. "Is that why I'm here?" Naiades closed her eyes a moment.

"Your presence will bring an end to this war. But to bring a victory for the side you wish? Deter this fate I have shown you? I know not."

"I just want it to stop," Azumi whispered.

"I am called," Alseides interrupted, and then he vanished, as though he had never stood with them to begin with.

Escaflowne _shifted_ back to white and stepped up to Azumi. "What would you have us do, Wing Goddess?" he asked.

Azumi squared her shoulders, her voice gaining strength. "Escaflowne, take me back to Gaea. To Leland and Riyad and the Abaharaki." If the _gods_ bowed down to her, then she must be able to exert _some_ sort of influence over the Clans. The dying had to stop!

"As you wish." Escaflowne dropped to one knee and took her hand.

* * *

"What the hell?" Anil exclaimed as the Token of the Dragon burst into warm, red light. Riyad, next to him using his Delphi telekinesis to clear away rubble from the road, let the stones fall and frowned.

"The Token of the Siren has never done _that_ before," Riyad commented.

The stone rose into the air, lifting the chain from around Anil's neck. "No!" Anil grabbed for the Token, but it had already risen too high. "This must be Brisingamen!" He took a step up into the air.

"No, Anil!" Leland caught Anil's shoulders and held him down, braid swinging over one shoulder. "No, Anil!"

"What are you doing?" Anil growled, looking down at Leland. "It's Brisingamen!"

"No, it's not!" Leland gripped Anil's shoulders, keeping him from stepping any higher into the air. "It's Escaflowne!"

"Escaflowne?" Anil questioned.

All three looked up into the night sky as a pillar of white light exploded from the Token of the Dragon, blinding its onlookers and forcing them to look away. When it faded, the magnificent, white Dragon Armour stood before them.

"How? How did it get here?" Anil frowned up at Escaflowne. "I didn't call it. It won't come without Miss Azumi." He turned in a circle, eyes darting over the broken stones. "Is she back?"

"The Wing Goddess falls," Riyad said in a hypnotic voice, staring distantly at the Dragon Armour, repeating his divination from so many weeks ago. "Her wings are broken. Catch her. She falls." He turned his face to Leland, his eyes blank. "Catch her!"

Escaflowne's eyes went dark. It dropped forward on its hands, its chest opening with an organic crack, and Azumi tumbled out of the Dragon Armour.

"Miss Azumi!" Leland darted forward and caught her in his arms. Riyad blinked and shook his head.

Escaflowne shifted into green light, streaming into ribbons and swirling in upon itself until, with a green flash, it once again returned to its blood-colored pendant state. It floated down into Anil's waiting hands.

Azumi opened her eyes that she had squeezed tightly shut. Leland smiled down at her. "Miss Azumi," he repeated.

Azumi hauled back her fist and punched him in the jaw. Leland grunted in surprise and dropped her. Azumi jumped to her feet and pointed an accusing finger at Leland. "You!"

"What did I do?" Leland rubbed his jaw, confused. Damn, that had hurt! Azumi was not particularly strong, but she had better aim than he would have given her credit for.

"You sent me home, that's what you did!" Azumi, springing to her feet, took another swing at Leland, and he dodged her fist easily.

Anshu dropped his shoes to the ground and stepped down into them from the light. "Azumi Kuronari!" He grinned as he watched the two. "Ah, love. Perhaps we should leave them alone for a bit."

"That's love?" Anil snorted. Anshu grinned.

"Mother and Father used to fight all the time. It kept their respect alive, they said." Anil rolled his eyes. Anshu hooked his fingers in Anil's collar and dragged him away.

"Let's see if there's any wine left around here."

"You told me that you loved me, and then you sent me away!" As Azumi advanced on Leland, he backed away instinctively. "I _hated_ home! I'd rather have let Brisingamen rape me again on Gaea than have gone home! Do you know what they did to me? They put me in the place for crazy people! They thought that I had gone _insane!_" Azumi stopped, her hands clenched into fists. "What do you think of _that_, Mr. Leland? What do you think of _that?_"

Leland looked at her simply. He smiled. He started laughing.

Azumi stared at him. "What's so funny? Mr. Leland! I don't think it's funny!"

Leland shook his head, laughing harder. He laughed until tears streamed down his cheeks and he had to sit down, holding his sides. "Miss Azumi," he gasped, "how far we have both fallen! You are a mess, Miss Azumi!"

Tears welled in Azumi's eyes. His words had clearly hurt her. "That's not funny," she said softly. "Not at all."

"Forgive me, Miss Azumi." Leland dried his eyes on his sleeve. He stood smoothly, caught her around the waist, and lifted her from the ground, swinging her in a circle before setting her down. "I'm just so happy to see you again that I'm not thinking straight! I don't think I've even smiled in weeks!"

Azumi planted her hands on his chest and shoved him away. "Then why did you send me home?" she demanded.

Leland sobered. "I thought that you were unhappy here," he told her.

"I was unhappy at _home!_" Azumi corrected.

"You were safe back on the Mystic Moon. Brisingamen couldn't reach you up there," Leland explained. "I thought that we didn't need you anymore."

"Didn't need me anymore?" Azumi looked away. "You didn't want me around anymore? That's why I'm back, right? Because you found out that you still need me?"

"No, Miss Azumi!" Scherazade, she still didn't understand yet? "Well, yes, I suppose it seems that we _do_ still need you, but—I thought that you would _want_ to go home," Leland told her. "Miss Azumi, if I could have the world my own way, you would stay here forever."

Azumi looked back up at him. She clasped her elbows in her hands, hugging herself. Did she find the wind cold, Leland wondered? Or did she want to hide the purple-pink lines that traced down her arms? "You would have me, broken and scarred?" she asked in a small voice.

Leland held his hand out to her, palm up. "I would have you, broken and scarred," he told her.

A look of relief flooded into Azumi's eyes, and she reached out to take his hand.

* * *

Azumi shivered. The night air still had a bite to it, though it heated in the day. The cold stone beneath her bare feet slowly sapped the warmth from her. She had lost her slippers when she fell from Escaflowne. Soft ash rose in small puffs when she moved. She knew that she should go inside, but she could not force her gaze from Adamanthea. Adamanthea, oh, it had once been so beautiful, now in ruins, in ashes. Here and there a small plant, a flower, had somehow missed the fires and clung to life stubbornly in the midst of so much death. It saddened her heart, but she could not turn away yet. It felt like continually prodding a bruise or a scrape to see if it still hurt. Mentally prodding all the bruises still discoloring her heart and her mind. Would it mean that she had finally healed, if they didn't hurt anymore? Or would it just mean that her soul had calloused over?

She felt a hand on her shoulder and stiffened. The hand disappeared. "I'm sorry, Miss Azumi. I didn't mean to startle you." Leland. Just Leland. She relaxed.

"It's terrible, Mr. Leland. It's so dead," she commented.

"Mm-hmm." He rested his hand on her shoulder again. His palm was warm. "It's too cold to be out here dressed like that, Miss Azumi. You don't have any shoes. You'll freeze."

"I'll come in soon," Azumi promised.

He slid his hand over her shoulder to move up and down her back slowly, and for some reason Azumi stiffened again, automatically going on edge. "You still sound sad," Leland observed.

"Is anybody really happy right now?" Azumi asked.

"True," he conceded.

Azumi glanced over her shoulder at Leland. Something felt very familiar and very wrong. Why did she want to flinch away from him? He just wanted to comfort her. If she could not trust Leland, she could not trust anyone.

Leland pressed something cold into her hands. "Please drink, Miss Azumi. You must be thirsty. You can't forget to take care of yourself."

She was thirsty. Come to think of it, she had forgotten to drink anything all day, and all the ash around certainly didn't help. She lifted the glass to her lips. Water.

_I'm not finished with you yet, lady Wing Goddess._

Azumi jerked away from Leland and dropped the glass; it shattered, turning ash into mud. "What's wrong?" Leland asked, alarmed, looking around. "Is there something wrong with the water? Miss Azumi?"

"He-" Azumi tried to hide her face from Leland in her hands. "He-"

Leland understood. "Brisingamen?" Azumi nodded.

Leland hoped that once Anshu caught up with Brisingamen, the Demon would give him the death that the bastard deserved. He reached out for Azumi, hesitated, then stepped up and enfolded her in his arms. "Did he hold you like this, Miss Azumi?"

"No," she mumbled.

Leland thought that she would cry, but she did not. She was stronger now, thanks to something, someone—Leland hoped that it was due to someone. He hoped that she had found someone to trust back in her world in the stars. She did not cry, just relaxed against him, and he found it somehow comforting to have another so close.

"Why do you hate your home so much, Miss Azumi?" he asked. "If I'm not prying."

"It's not really my home I hate so much as myself, and the way I feel when I'm there," she answered.

"Why?"

"I don't know," she mumbled into his tunic. "But I think it's why Mr. Niram picked me as the Wing Goddess. He wanted to help me. I don't know what's wrong with me. I can't be happy when I succeed at something. Praise just makes me depressed because I don't think I deserve it. The people around me never really notice me unless they want something from me, and then they get angry if they don't get it. I can't ever let myself forget that I'm nothing."

"Why?" Leland asked again.

Azumi shrugged. "I don't know. It doesn't make any sense. It feels conceited to be happy for myself. No matter how well I do something, there's always someone who can do it better, so it would be conceited to be proud of myself. I mean, it doesn't affect anyone but me, does it?" She stopped abruptly. "Forget it. I'm feeling sorry for myself. It's not fair for me to make you put up with all this."

Leland swayed slowly from one foot to the other. "Tell me. I'm listening." She looked up at him hesitantly, as though wishing for an excuse to stop talking, but his small smile told her to continue.

Azumi shrugged again. "And I don't have any right to complain when I do. There are people a lot worse off than me out there, but they grin and bear it all. I have so much, but I'm not happy. I'm so selfish, Mr. Leland. My problems don't matter, and I make problems for everybody else. I'm a terrible person. And I want to change, but I'm not. I can't even think of where to start. So I hate myself," she finished.

"Who told you all that about yourself?" Leland asked her. "Someone at home?"

"Well—sort of. I did."

"You are not a selfish person," he told her. "You can only give so much before you've drained yourself dry."

"But I can't stop, Mr. Leland! They keep wanting more and more from me! That's the feeling I get when I don't do good enough, that they think I'm not trying hard enough!"

Leland had an idea of who "they" were. "Your family?" he asked. She nodded. "But do they love you?" he asked.

"I don't know," Azumi answered. "Probably. Yes, I guess. I mean, they say they do, but, I don't feel loved. I guess I don't see how anyone could love me." She sighed. "People are so confusing, sometimes I want to just give up and hide. Brisin—" Her voice faltered. "He seemed so nice at first, and then look what he did. And Mr. Anshu—I thought he was crazy and he scared me to death, but he's not all that bad."

"You worry too much." Leland brushed a strand of hair back from her face and kissed her cheek. "Never doubt that you are loved, Miss Azumi. Never."

She stood silent a long time. It felt good, just to be held by someone who cared about her. Leland was, she noticed, no longer wearing white. His tunic, though clean, had still gone gray from the ash. Good. She never wanted to see the color white again. He smelled like ash and sweat and blood; he smelled wonderful compared to the antiseptic no-smell world she had been living in.

"Mr. Leland?" Azumi asked finally.

"Yes?"

"May I ask a favor?"

"Anything."

"You caught me?"

"Yes." In more ways than one, he had caught her.

"Please don't let go."

"I will never."


	32. Chapter 32: Keeper of the Dragon

**Keeper of the Dragon  
Chapter 32 - Keeper of the Dragon**

Before the sun had even risen, the Abaharaki took Azumi to the Shrine of the Siren. The beautiful building, due to its holy nature, had survived the fighting thus far remarkably unscathed. As they made their way silently through the pre-dawn, Azumi could make out black armor in the distance on the plains around them, the color made dark and indistinguishable by the lack of light. She had a sinking feeling that the soldiers did not belong to _her_ side, the Blue Siren Clan and Green Erinyes Clan.

Azumi grabbed Leland's arm. "What's going on?" she asked him, her eyes wide.

"Nothing that hasn't happened many times already," he assured her. "But today it will change. Today we will end it, Azumi. Did you see? The Black Dragon and Gray Griffin armies are already here."

"How do you know that it will work?" she questioned. He could hear the fear in her voice as she spoke. "How do you know?" Oh, gods, Azumi thought, Naiades had told her that her presence would end things, but would it end in the way _she_ wanted it to? What if the battle began, and Alseides and Scherazade destroyed Naiades and Escaflowne? What if Brisingamen killed Anil, or Anshu—or Leland? What if he found her again, and killed her, forcing Escaflowne to depart—so many things could go wrong, it made her knees weak just to think of them!

"Because we have you back, Miss Azumi. That's how we know," Anil answered her. "Because today, Escaflowne and Naiades will take the battlefield. Brisingamen will have no choice but to come."

"And we have both vowed to fight until either we win, or they are dead," Riyad finished. He had come such a long way from the meek little apprentice that Azumi had first met at the Abaharaki guild-home. His face, set in an expression of grim determination, even looked older, and he a foot taller.

"You'll stay in here for the battle, Azumi," Leland told her, leading her into the Shrine of the Siren. "This is probably the safest place in Adamanthea."

"I feel like I should be helping you!" Azumi protested, "Doing something!"

"Live, Azumi Kuronari Wing Goddess. All you have to do is live," Anshu told her. "We need your presence on Gaea. Just stay alive for us." _And for Leland Blackhawk_, he mouthed, a knowing smile on his face.

"Niram an' Elen are guardin' th' doors," Sapir assured Azumi, "just in case they try ta send someone after ya." Azumi nodded.

Anshu looked to Anil and Riyad. "I will do my best to take Alseides back from Brisingamen," he promised with a confident nod. "I am its true Keeper; there is a chance that it may obey me over him."

"Let's get going, then." Anil pulled the Token of the Dragon off over his head and started to the door.

Azumi peered outside, and found the Siren army at the ready, sitting cross-legged on the ground, eyes closed in concentration. The soft, spring breeze fluttered blue cloaks from their shoulders, revealing lightweight armor of thin wood lacquered and polished to a mirror-like shine. Erinyes soldiers each stood protectively by a Delphi. Their leaf green colors and leather armor signified their Clan. Both bright colors stood out in bold contrast to the ash and the ominous black and gray of their enemies.

As the sun first appeared at the edge of the horizon, its light glistened faintly from the blades of the Erinyes's halberds and short sword sheaths. Too, it glistened from the silver armor of the Griffin army and was swallowed by the Black Dragons' ebony uniforms.

And those armies were one step ahead of theirs. Alseides and Scherazade waited behind their soldiers.

"Stay in the Shrine of the Siren," Anil told Azumi, seeing the worried look on her face. "Stay in the Shrine and you'll be safe. I give you my word, whatever it's worth to you." Azumi nodded and hung back in the doorway as the others stepped outside.

Anil glanced at Azumi, nervousness momentarily flashing across his face.

He hurled the Token of the Dragon into the air. "Descend to me, Escaflowne!" he called. The pendant rose. All watched it anxiously. It reached its apex. The black cord was serpentine in the air.

A pillar of white light exploded brilliantly from the Token of the Dragon, though not so bright as the day before. When it faded, it left behind the magnificent, white knight that had returned Azumi to Gaea. Somehow, it almost seemed eager to Azumi, or anxious, as though now coming to a long-expected summons.

"Escaflowne." Anil took a step toward the Armour, taking in the details of its appearance for the first time. "It's just like my Clan's legends say! It is white! It's white! It's not black, it's white!" He sounded like an excited child.

"Anil!" Azumi called. He looked to her. "Be careful, Anil! Escaflowne—he's not like the other Armours!"

"What do you mean?" Anil asked, frowning.

"I'm not quite sure! He's—he's more independent." Azumi sighed in frustration. How could she possibly summarize everything that Escaflowne had told her the day before? "He may not always listen to you. Pay attention to him!"

Anil nodded once and stepped up to Escaflowne. He pressed a hand to its chest, and it opened with an organic crack. He stepped inside, the Armour closing around him. "Escaflowne, I give you my blood!" he called. Needles, life-channels, detached themselves and drilled painfully into the veins of his neck; Anil choked.

Suddenly he felt strange, almost disembodied. No, he had a body, and he was more enormous than anything around him. Power flowed through him, more power than anything around him. None would dare challenge him! He lifted an arm. Escaflowne lifted an arm. He clenched a fist. Escaflowne clenched a fist.

Sapir grinned. "It worked! It worked!" She clapped her hands with glee.

Anil reached over his shoulder and grasped at the sword-hilt jutting up between Escaflowne's shoulder-blades. He pulled, and gritted his teeth as bone scraped against bone. With a burst of blood, Escaflowne's sword came free, and the silver blade unfolded toward the sky.

A flash of blue light, and Naiades stood next to him. Riyad took a deep breath. "Let's go."

As the Delphi and Erinyes parted to let the two Armours walk through, Leland turned to the Abaharaki. "Us, too." He drew his rapier. "Remember, keep an eye on the Shrine of the Siren. If Niram or Elen falls, take their place. If anything happens to Azumi, we lose Escaflowne, and it's all over."

"Right!" Sapir bared her claws eagerly. "We'll finish this today if it kills us!"

"Don't joke like that!" Silas laughed, poking Sapir in the shoulder with the butt of his spear. "You'll jinx us!"

"Naw," Sapir snickered, batting the spear away, "nothin' can jinx us today! We got th' lil' missy back!"

Naides stopped. "Anil!" Riyad hissed, "wait! They're doing something!" Escaflowne stopped to watch.

Scherazade and Alseides had moved to the front of their armies. Alseides took the lead. The Delphi army hardened its concentration, strengthened the shield over the city.

Anshu perched on Naiades's shoulder, his tunic tied around his waist, crouching on the balls of his feet, wings spread wide, fingertips touching the Geas lightly for balance. "Get ready, Riyad Heatherwilde."

"I'll do my best," Riyad replied.

Alseides drew back its arm and hurled a silver spear at Adamanthea. The shield over the city shattered with an audible sound of breaking glass. In unison the red glow of the Delphi army's tattoos died, and their eyes snapped open. The barriers gone, the two armies rushed to meet each other.

Alseides flapped its flaming wings and jumped into the sky.

"Have it that way, then," Anshu snarled, "I can tear your throat open on the ground or in the sky, it makes no difference to me!" He leapt off Naiades's shoulder and, with a flap of his wings that send glittering scales flying around him, shot through the air at Alseides. Riyad spread his arms, with its graceful bird's wings, and followed after Alseides.

Scherazade in its griffin mode beat its wings forward, pausing in the air by Escaflowne. "Follow me if you can, boy," Divyendu taunted. Scherazade flew up, leaving Escaflowne the lone Armour on the ground.

Anil growled. How did he make Escaflowne fly? He knew that it could change into a dragon, but he didn't know how to do it! How did he fly? How? _How?_

Scherazade circled around and swooped in.

"Fly, Escaflowne!" Anil urged. "I know that you have a mind of your own! Fly!"

Scherazade pawed Athalan in the shoulder as it flew by—only a teasing, distracting blow meant to shake his nerves, but it knocked him to the ground, and when he swiped at Scherazade with his sword, he missed.

"Fly, Escaflowne!" Anil pleaded. "You can't let me die here like this, after all I've done to bring you to us! Fly! _Fly!_

**_Fly!_**"

On its own accord, Escaflowne shifted into a dragon and jumped up into the air, out of Scherazade's reach. Anil turned to face the silver griffin, eyes flashing.

And on the ground, the slaughter had already begun. The Black Dragons flew over the battlefield, raining green fire and black feathers down on their foes as the humans rushed in, steel flashing. The Delphi hurried to throw up mental barriers above their fighters, and the Erinyes beat the humans away.

Leland thrust his rapier through the neck of a human warrior and jerked it free, letting the man fall to the ground. He looked up to see scorching death flaming down from above-

-to spatter harmlessly against a wall that no eyes could see. Leland nodded his thanks to the Delphi soldier who crouched behind a piece of rubble that had once served as the foundation of a house. The Delphi nodded back his acknowledgment.

Leland turned back to the battle. The list of dead Abaharaki and apprentices ran over and over in his mind, his mantra for the battle. _Alder, Cybele, Vere. I will not forget._ His sword drank blood. _Lily, Bai, Pi'ilani. I will not forget._ The others dropped around him. Always the others. Nothing ever touched him, but he could not protect them. He could not protect them all. _Asher, Rohe, Dalya! I will not forget!_ Green fire poured from the sky. _Micah Shadowglen! I will not forget!_ Green fire consumed Delphi and Erinyes. Green fire consumed, and a dying voice screamed his name.

Leland froze as the Abaharaki man fell dead. "Ilan Springbrook," he whispered, adding another name to the list. "I will not forget."

Another voice cried frantically, "Guild Master!" Leland blinked out of a daze. Ilan Springbrook had had an apprentice. Ilan had died and left the boy alone, desperately fending off with his sword an attack by a far more skilled Griffin soldier.

"Not another one. Not another one!" Leland cried, and plunged into the skirmish. "Micah Shadowglen! I will not forget!" A kick in the side sent the surprised soldier stumbling away. He died with the point of Leland's rapier through his eye, dead before he hit the ground.

The apprentice, breathing hard, looked up at him with wide, gray eyes. "Thank you, Guild Master." He looked away from Leland to the newly-dead body in the ashes. "Ilan."

Leland stabbed his rapier into the ground and took the apprentice by the shoulders. "I want you to get out of here, Gildas. Run away as fast as you can, and don't come back until the battle is over."

The apprentice looked confused. "Run away, Guild Master? But, I can't just leave you-"

"That's an order, Gildas! I won't lose another Apprentice!" Leland shook him slightly. "Do you understand what I'm saying? Get out of here! Now!" Gildas nodded bravely. Leland released him, and he ran, arms pumping, sword flashing naked at his side. Leland jerked his rapier free and turned to kill again.

In the Shrine of the Siren, Azumi huddled against the cool stone of the altar. She could hear fighting, shouting, screaming, dying outside. She did not know if she had ever been so frightened. She could not swallow, could hardly breathe. If someone came for her, she did not think her legs had the strength to run. Only fragile stone separated her from that death. She had been brave before, but that had not been real bravery, only apathy. She did not want to die anymore. Now she had something to live for, she had _someone_ to live for.

Soft hands enfolded hers. Azumi looked up into the pale but composed face of Lady Heatherwilde. "Pray, Miss Azumi." Azumi could hear fear in the Delphi woman's voice. "Whatever gods you believe in, pray to them with all your heart."


	33. Chapter 33: Dead and Dead and Kill and D...

**Keeper of the Dragon  
Chapter 33 - Dead and Dead and Kill and Die**

Hatred burned in him like the fire of his god as Anshu flew to Alseides. Brisingamen would pay today for the things he had done. Oh, yes, he would pay dearly. He would pay in blood and sweat and tears and pain, and then when Anshu could take nothing more from him, he would pay with his life.

He heard Brisingamen curse when Anshu filled his vision. He latched onto Alseides's face, reaching in through the gaps in its helmet, searching for Brisingamen inside. "Yes, you still fear me, boy, don't you?" Anshu hissed. He could see Brisingamen, glaring at him. "Even just a little bit, you still fear me. I've got you, you son of a bitch! You die today!"

Brisingamen's face went passive and calm, and he sent Alseides into a series of whipping turns meant to throw Anshu out of the Armour. Trying to rattle Anshu, hmm? "You were never cut out to be an emotionless killer, Brisingamen!" Anshu cursed and reached out to the Dragon. "Riyad!" he yelled.

Riyad forced his fluttering heart to calm itself and _reached_ out to Alseides, and Naiades _reached_ with him. The Demon Armour slowed, stopped, and hung in the air, held tight by invisible hands.

Beads of sweat trickled down Brisingamen's face. He lost his cool demeanor and jerked left and right, trying to break free of Riyad's psychic grip.

Anshu grinned with mad wickedness. "We've got you now, whelp! You can't run from me anymore!" He stretched his arm out further and seized a handful of Brisingamen's white hair, forcing those golden eyes to stare into his own pale blue. "Die," Anshu cackled, green light flashing at his forehead.

"No!" Brisingamen shouted, jerking away, tearing himself from Anshu's grip. Alseides's mouth opened, blowing a steady stream of fire at Anshu.

"What?" Anshu yelped, "how did you know it could do that! Nobody knows that it can do that!" He gritted his teeth. "You idiot! Your fire can't hurt me! I'm a Demon! What are you up to now, dammit? Stop, Alseides! Stop! Let me in! _I'm_ your Keeper! Listen to _me!_ He's not the Wing Goddess!" Anshu reached for Brisingamen again, clinging fast to Alseides's face. "Alseides! Stop!"

Brisingamen smiled.

Naiades bobbed to the side to avoid the gout of flame, and for that instant Riyad lost his psychic grip on Alseides.

"Alseides!" Anshu pushed an arm into the Demon Armour again and felt Brisingamen's hand close around his wrist, his sharp nails sinking deep into his flesh. "Oh, shit," he hissed.

Now free, Alseides whirled, flinging Anshu away with a sickening snap. It caught him in one great hand and hurled him at the ground.

Naiades dove, and Riyad caught Anshu in its hands. Anshu pulled himself weakly to his feet and fluttered back into the air weakly, clutching his arm to his chest, anger and hate only halfway masking the pain on his face.

"All right, Riyad, I don't care if you hurt Alseides. Kill it!" Anshu shouted. "Maybe someone can revive it someday! Do whatever you have to, just stop him!"

"All right!"

Anshu drifted down slowly to the ground, and Riyad faced Brisingamen alone. _I can do it. Oh, Naiades, help me!_

The Siren shot at The Demon, catching Brisingamen by surprise. Naiades forced Alseides down to the ground and pinned it by its wings on its back, kicking up a gigantic cloud of ash into the air. Riyad sharpened his mind into a sword and stabbed down. With a frantic twist Alseides jerked out of Heliah's hold, and Brisingamen stabbed up at Riyad with a silver spear. Flesh tore, blood spurted from Naiades, and Riyad gasped. Oh, gods, that had come so close, Alseides had almost impaled _him_ along with his Armour!

"Get out of there, Riyad!" Anshu screeched. "Get out! Naiades can't do anyone any good if it dies!"

"Return to me, Naiades," Riyad whispered. Oh, gods, he had lost the fight already. Now Anil had to carry the battle all by himself. Riyad had not even _wounded_ Alseides! Oh, no, now what could they do? Anil had depended on them to take care of Alseides, Anshu had depended on Riyad to hold Alseides so that Anshu could take care of Brisingamen!

Naiades became blue light and swirled in on itself, converging into the Token. Riyad tumbled to the ground. The Token fell and lay glittering in the ash. Riyad reached for it. Alseides up the Token of the Siren in its hand and crushed it.

"_No!_" Riyad screamed, "_Naiades! No!_"

"Damn you, Brisingamen" Anshu hissed. "And to think I once cared for you. Well, I never cared for _this_ beast. I hope you rot in the darkest pit of Hell!"

Riyad crumpled to the ground as Alseides let the shards of the Token of the Siren fall. "Oh, Naiades!"

"Riyad!" Anshu clamped down on the urge to kick the boy and instead crouched next to him. "Get up, Riyad! It's not all over yet!" He nodded back to the city. "When Azumi Kuronari Wing Goddess dies, _then_ you will know that it's over. Not before!"

"But, Naiades!" Riyad sifted his fingers through the ash, gathering the sparkling, blue shards to him. "Oh, gods, how could I let this happen?"

"At least _you_ don't have to fight _against_ your own Armour!" Anshu grabbed Riyad's collar in his good hand and hauled him to his feet. "Where did you leave your bow? No, don't tell me! Just get it and help protect Azumi Kuronari!" He gave Riyad a shove toward the Shrine of the Siren. "Go!" Riyad ran.

Alseides's head turned toward Riyad.

"Oh, let him go!" Anshu shouted. "He's harmless now! _I'm_ the one who's going to take Alseides back!"

"Like hell you are!" Brisingamen growled. Alseides reached out a hand to Anshu. Green light exploded, and Alseides jerked back, more surprised than injured.

Anshu jumped into the air again, clutching his broken and bleeding arm to his chest. It had gone numb now, but he had a distinct feeling that it would hurt plenty later. Good, then, he would save worrying about it for later. Escaflowne and Scherazade continued to circle each other in the sky, but neither had managed to land a good blow on the other. Anshu looked to Alseides. It sickened his heart to realize that his Armour had to die. But still, maybe someone would find a way to revive it someday. Maybe. Damn, but this felt exactly like self-mutilation. It hurt, and a voice in his head screamed at him that it should not be done, but he would not stop. If the Red Demon Clan was to live, then Alseides, their god, had to die. It did not make sense to him, but when did an action have to make sense or be understood completely in order to be undertaken?

"Anil!" Anshu called. The Dragon's head jerked in his direction. Anshu met Anil's eyes, then turned in the air and shot away, Alseides behind him and Escaflowne following.

Anshu flew to Hale Lake, nearly the center of Adamanthea. Here. Alseides would meet its death here. It was certainly deep enough, and the Demon Armour could not even hope to swim. Anshu glanced back over his shoulder to assure himself that Brisingamen still followed, pulled in his wings. Anshu hung in the sky for a moment, then gravity took over and he began to fall. He twisted in the air and dove clumsily beneath the water.

Alseides beat its wings forward and hovered over the lake's surface, searching for Anshu.

Anil took his cues well. Escaflowne flew down behind Alseides, and The Dragon's powerful fore claws slammed into The Demon's back. The Demon Geas plunged beneath the surface of the water. Thrashing, it sank.

Anshu surfaced a distance away and watched with grim satisfaction. "Two Armours left," he said to himself, gingerly treading water. "I hope that Brisingamen drowns with Alseides. Two Armours left. The gods fly with you, Anil." Slowly, with a brief smile at his jest, he made his way to the shore as The Dragon circled once again to battle The Griffin.

Anshu was a Demon. He was of flame, and he had never been able to swim beyond keeping his head above the water and moving at a snail's pace toward land. Brisingamen was a Dragon. Long before Anshu reached the lake's shore, Brisingamen stumbled out of the water.

Brisingamen's stolen Armour had died, but he could see Divyendu still going strong. They had planned for this. They could still win. Brisingamen cast aside his tunic and drew the boiled cat's bone from his pocket. He clamped it in his teeth and vanished. He tossed his tunic aside, spread his wings, and jumped into the air. If he could kill Azumi Kuronari, Escaflowne would leave. If he could kill Azumi Kuronari, he would win. _If_ he could kill Azumi Kuronari. But he had no reason to believe that she would not prove easy to kill.

This was getting him nowhere! Anil frowned in frustration as he flew at Scherazade again, only to have The Griffin dodge him. He had fought in skirmishes—the White Dragon's army scarcely deserved to call itself by that name, and their fights, in Anil's mind, were not large enough to qualify as battles—where both sides went on the defensive, and this was the same case. Every time Anil thought that he had Scherazade trapped in the line of Escaflowne's claws, it would somehow slide away. If only he had had a chance to meet Athalan sooner than today!

Escaflowne snapped at Scherazade with its sharp teeth, and the silver griffin swiped at The Dragon's face with a sharp claw.

"I'll kill you!" Anil shouted. Escaflowne folded in its wings and dove.

Elen shifted nervously from one foot to the other. "This doesn't feel right," she told Niram. "Nobody's come anywhere near the Shrine yet. They _must_ know that Miss Azumi is in here. If I were Brisingamen, I would have sent a dozen assassins to kill the Wing Goddess, but nobody's come for her." Niram nodded his agreement. "Maybe they forgot about her? No, she's too important for that. I guess we should just consider ourselves lucky, then?" Niram shrugged. He did not know what to think.

Cold fingers closed around Elen's throat. She had the time only to gasp before they tightened, choking her. All of her knowledge of fighting and self-defense flew from her mind even as she tried to bring it to use. Her staff clattered to the ground, and her hands went up to try to pry the offending fingers loose. Her feet kicked and thrashed a good half a meter above the ground. Niram's face was a mix of horror and confusion. Very clearly, someone was trying to strangle Elen, but it did not look like the work of any Demon, Dragon, or Delphi that he had ever seen. He had his short sword in his hand, he could see the indentation of fingers in her neck, but _he could not see a body to strike!_

Elen dropped to the ground in an unceremonious heap, and Niram heard soft footsteps coming for _him_, now. Riyad appeared next to Niram, out of breath from running, a bow and an arrow in his hands. He scarcely had the stamina left to draw the bow, but draw it he did, closing his eyes, tattoo on his forehead glowing. "I see you!" he cried, and loosed the arrow. It struck the cat's bone in Brisingamen's teeth, breaking it. The Dragon reappeared. Niram lunged in with his short sword.

"_Shit_." Green light burst at Brisingamen's hands, and green light rushed at the former Keeper. Riyad lifted a hand to ward off the flames, but he had no strength left. The fire burned and consumed. The stink of charred flesh filled the air, and Riyad and Niram fell to the ground. Smoke rose from their blackened bodies, burnt flesh dropped away from their bones and fell to meet the ash of the burnt flesh of the city.

The flash of green fire drew Leland's eyes, and he swore. "Brisingamen!"

Silas knocked the legs out from under his opponent, knocked the man out with a quick strike to the head, and stopped fighting, turning. "Brisingamen?"

"He's going after Azumi! We have to stop him! She can't afford to die!" Leland turned to go.

"All right! We're finally goin' after Brisingamen! It's about time, lemme tell ya!" Sapir flourished her claws and started for the Shrine of the Siren in a sprint. Leland moved to follow her.

Pain lanced through his leg, and he looked down dumbly at the gray-feathered shaft that protruded from his thigh. Damn. Not what they needed right now. He almost laughed. Someone had terrible aim out there, if he had meant to strike through Leland's heart.

Leland limped to the scant shelter that a toppled wall offered and lowered himself down to sit on the ground. Silas knelt next to him.

"Guild Master-" Silas started.

"Go to Azumi," Leland interrupted.

"Guild Master-"

"That's an order, Silas! Sapir can't hold him off on her own! If Azumi dies, Escaflowne leaves, and then we'll all die, too!" Leland's tone did not leave room for argument. Silas lifted his spear, nodded, and ran to the Shrine of the Siren.

Leland returned his attention to the arrow. He grasped the shaft and pulled, testing it. Stars exploded in front of his eyes. It had struck too deep for that, then. He pushed the arrow down until the head emerged from the back of his leg, then he snapped as much of the shaft off as he could and pulled it out the opposite side it had entered. He tossed it aside and leaned back against the rough stone, closing his eyes, shaking with pain. He pressed his hands against both sides of the wound, trying to stop the blood that made his palms slick. "Dammit, I'm not a soldier," he muttered to himself. "I'm a fighter, but I'm not a soldier. Hurry up, Anil. I don't know how much longer we'll last."

With renewed strength Escaflowne hurled itself bodily at Scherazade, throwing the Griffin Armour down to the ground. "I'll kill you!" Anil shouted, and he brought Escaflowne's sharp claws down, tearing open Scherazade's armor, sending rivers of blood down its gray skin. The Griffin roared in pain.

"Scherazade, return to me!" Divyendu called. Escaflowne snapped the Token of the Griffin out of the air before it could fall, and Anil crushed it in his sharp teeth.

"We win," Anil cackled, "we win!" He dropped back down to the ground, shifting into the white knight.

And then a voice came whispering in the back of his head. _Kill_, it told him, _kill_.

"Yes! I'll kill you!" Anil crowed, and Escaflowne reached out a hand for Divyendu. "You tried to destroy my Armour! My Tribe! I'll kill you!"

Escaflowne froze.

"Escaflowne!" Anil jerked about inside the Dragon Armour, trying to force it to move. "Escaflowne! What are you doing?"

Escaflowne's skin shone with a blinding light that grew brighter until the dragon lost all form. Then, the white light began to darken, and the light that was Anil winked out.

Brisingamen did not see Scherazade fall. He did not see Escaflowne glow. He had only one concern, and he focused all of his being upon it—to kill Azumi Kuronari.

He heard loud footsteps and the wild ringing of bells behind him, and Sapir leapt upon his back. "I've been waitin' for this!" she hissed.

Brisingamen whipped to the side before she could get her claws around, flinging the cat-girl from his back to crash into the side of the Shrine of the Siren. He reached out to her with his Dragon magic, seized her head in two invisible hands, and _pulled_. Sapir squealed, her hands going to her neck. Brisingamen _pulled_, and tore Sapir's head from her shoulders. Severed spine flashed white, blood sprayed. Brisingamen dropped her to the ground.

Silas knocked Brisingamen's legs out from under him with the butt of his spear and spun the weapon around, intent upon opening Brisingamen's throat with the head. The Dragon knocked the spear's tip wide, hooked Silas's leg with his own, and jerked the Erinyes's foot out from under him. As Silas fell Brisingamen grabbed the spear and twisted it—Silas lost his grip. Silas jumped to his feet and Brisingamen brought the spear round. Silas jumped back as the blade whistled past his head, and again, and again. Brisingamen scowled; his expression changed to one of smug contempt as Silas backed up against the sturdy wall of the Shrine of the Siren. Brisingamen thrust in again, and Silas sidestepped, throwing himself forward in a leap that spun into a kick. His heel came down on Brisingamen's knuckles, and the spear clattered away.

However, he had misjudged the location of the ground. Expecting his foot to come down on solid stone, Silas slipped, landing hard on his back. Brisingamen shook his bruised hand and snatched up the dropped spear as Silas scrambled to his feet. _So it comes to this, then. But I have to protect Miss Azumi._ Unarmed and defenseless, Silas drew in a deep breath to scream, the last-ditch weapon of an Erinyes.

He found his windpipe inexplicably closed by invisible hands on his throat. His eyes widened in confusion and he looked up at Brisingamen, finding the Dragon's brow furrowed as he concentrated to use his innate abilities to stop Silas's breath. Brisingamen still had the attention to spare for a smirk as the spear spun in his hands. The tip tore open the Erinyes's stomach; he doubled over, crying out, and Brisingamen plunged the spear into his back. Silas toppled next to Sapir, blood crawling through the ash.

Brisingamen left the spear jutting from the Erinyes's body. He turned to the Shrine of the Siren. He pushed on the door. Locked. Green fire flared wide and hot, and the entire front of the beautiful building exploded, scattering melting rock like a handful of feathers tossed to the wind. He saw Azumi scream and dart to hide behind the altar.

Lady Heatherwilde placed herself bravely in front of Brisingamen, shaping her mind into a razor and hurling it at him. She had not intended to act as the Abaharaki's last stand against the Black Dragon king. She had never had much training in psychic battling, and Riyad had asked her here for the same reason that Leland had brought Azumi—to keep his mother safe. Yes, the Blue Siren Queen was not supposed to be fighting. And neither were children supposed to be dying out there to keep the Clans safe.

But, Lady Heatherwilde had forgotten that if her mind was a razor, then it could not be a shield at the same time. Brisingamen dodged it and threw green fire back at her. The roof of the Shrine of the Siren came crashing down around them, and Lady Heatherwilde shared the same fate as her son.

Azumi crawled out from where she had hid beneath the altar and backed away from Brisingamen, her eyes wide. He stalked to her and caught her around the neck, squeezing the life from her as he had from Elen. There would be no quick burning for the Wing Goddess.

_Not like this! Not like this, it can't end like this!_ Azumi's fingers pried at Brisingamen's hands. "I am—the Wing Goddess-" she choked. She had to stall him, had to distract him.

"I know it." Brisingamen tightened his grip. The girl was doing a very good job of hiding her fear this time, but he could nearly smell her panic. She clawed at his hands with her nails.

"The gods—bow down—before me…" _Leland, help! Somebody! Help me!_

"Then let the gods save you," Brisingamen growled.

Azumi's face lit up with a sudden idea. Brisingamen frowned. What had he said? What could she possibly be up to? She couldn't do anything to him. But white light surrounded them. What was she doing? This couldn't be her! She didn't have any sort of awesome power—or, if she did, she had not the strength or the belief in herself to use it! A distraction, then? Well, it would not work on him. Stupid girl, he had seen right through it.

The light faded, and Brisingamen smirked, for he still held Azumi's slender little neck in his hands.

Brisingamen jerked, and his eyes clouded. His grip relaxed. Azumi jumped out of the way, gasping for breath, as he toppled forward, a pair of green-handled scissors jutting from the base of his skull.


	34. Chapter 34: Black and White Make Finalit

**Keeper of the Dragon  
Chapter 34 – Black and White Make Finality**

Leland's heart screamed when he saw the Shrine of the Siren explode. "Azumi!" he gasped. "Oh, gods!" He took a step forward, and his injured leg gave out under him. He fell to his hands and knees. "Dammit! Azumi, dammit!" He pushed himself to his feet again. "I have to be stronger than this! I have to!" He took a tentative step forward again and fell. Fine, then. He would crawl. He had to reach Azumi, reach her before Brisingamen did. Tears of frustration sprang to his eyes as his hands closed around fists of stones. "I promised you that I wouldn't let anyone hurt you again, Azumi!" Well, where did that put him now? Floundering about in the ash, useless. Even if he managed to reach her in time, which would take an act of the gods themselves, he would not even be able to do anything to help her. Damn his weakness! Damn his carelessness!

Anshu dropped down lightly to the ground, dripping water, pulling in his wings with a final puff of sparkling scales. He knelt down next to Leland. "Help me, Leland Blackhawk."

_What do you mean, help you? Can't you see that I have to get somewhere?_

Anshu gingerly untied his soaking wet tunic from around his waist and held it out to Leland. "I can't tear it." Leland looked at the former Keeper's arm, now swollen and turned an ugly, purplish color, and winced. Calmness returned. If he couldn't help Azumi, then at least he could help Anshu, and maybe Anshu could figure a way to help Azumi Easily he ripped a sleeve from Anshu's tunic and tied it around Anshu's neck in a makeshift sling, then tore another strip to bind his own leg. The both of them would prove their mettle today.

Anshu stood with a brisk nod. "Now, I still have two good legs, and you look like you have two good arms." He looked down at the Guild Master and offered his good hand. "Lean on me, Leland Blackhawk, and I will get you to Azumi Kuronari."

Leland took Anshu's hand and pulled himself to his feet. He threw an arm around Anshu's shoulders, and, supporting each other, they started for the ruin of the Shrine of the Siren.

Midori leaned over the Black Dragon King. She prodded him with the toe of her thick-soled shoe, leaving a dirty footprint on his cheek. "Yep, he's dead, all right." She straightened. "Uh, Azumi?" she asked. "This is that Brisingamen guy, right?" Azumi, massaging her neck, nodded. Midori breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, good! That'd be a damn good way to make a shitty first impression, you know? Oh, hello, my name is Nishino Midori, and I just killed the king of the White Dragon Clan. What, you mean I got the wrong one?" she joked.

"Yeah," Azumi agreed. "That would be bad."

Midori blinked. "You talked!"

"Yeah," Azumi repeated. "I'm getting better, I think." Midori smiled.

"I'm glad, Azumi. I knew you could do it."

Planting her hands on her hips, Midori surveyed the landscape. "So this is Gaea, huh? Then again, it looks like the gray is just a recent thing. Brisingamen decided to redecorate?" Midori winked at Azumi. "You see? I _told_ you that you could get me here if you wanted. Nice disappearing thing, by the way. They were all so stunned they forgot to throw me out. I just walked away without getting in trouble at all. Took all the mints from the receptionist's bowl for good measure."

"Really?" Azumi laughed. "I wish I could have seen that!"

"You have no idea how good it is to see you smile, girl."

But Azumi's smile died when she spotted the brilliant light and Escaflowne.

The shining white darkened to the deepest black, the color crawling like rotting worms over Escaflowne's white armor. Its cloak darkened, and the fine, thick fabric split into tatters. "E-Escaflowne?" Azumi wondered. What was going on? Nothing like this happened to the other Armours. What was happening to Escaflowne?

Escaflowne turned to her, and the sky flashed ominously.

"That isn't good, is it?" Midori asked.

"Anil, Escaflowne," Azumi breathed. "What happened to them?"

Storm clouds roiled in the sky, and inside the Armour, Anil's lips parted in a sinister smile. Escaflowne lifted its hands to the heavens, and black lightning poured down, destroying the buildings still left standing, tearing channels in the ground, killing soldiers, killing anything that remained to kill.

"Escaflowne!" Azumi cried, "Anil!"

Midori gave her a push forward. "Well, go stop him, girl!"

"Stop him!" Azumi argued. "What do you mean, stop him?"

"You're the Wing Goddess," Midori reminded her. "This is your job! It's up to you! Go for it!"

Azumi took a deep breath. Uncertainly, she stepped up on the largest piece of rubble, her bare feet finding easy traction on the cold stone. She still wore the white gown she had come back to Gaea in, the only thing left still white. She stood out like a single snowflake fallen on the black soil at the beginning of winter. So small. Fragile. Powerless.

"Anil!" she called, "Anil!"

Escaflowne paused. It lowered its arms. It looked in Azumi's direction.

"Anil!" Azumi continued, "Do you hear me?"

The Black Knight strode slowly toward her. His footsteps were soft in the ash, but to Azumi they came louder than the crashing thunder, and they shook the ground. The cool breeze turned suddenly hot and fierce. Azumi stepped down from the stone into the powdery ash. She had to hold her ground. This was her job, _hers_. She existed for this, her moment of worth.

Anil stopped only a few feet ahead of her, the hot wind swirling the ash around him. Azumi blinked against the dust and forced her gaze to meet his. "Stop this, Escaflowne!" she told Anil firmly. "The fighting is over! Stop!"

Escaflowne lifted a black-covered hand slowly. Azumi spread her arms out to her sides. "This must end, Escaflowne!" she continued. "Escaflowne! Anil! Listen to me!"

Escaflowne reached out a hand to seize Azumi. "Listen to me, Escaflowne," she said softly, closing her eyes. The white light began to shine around them, growing in strength and intensity, wrapping around them both, and Escaflowne froze—

—and she stood on the white plane where she had first me the gods. Now all of them were sprawled on the ground like Chafaris and Teiring. Only Alseides lay peacefully on his back, his hands folded as though in sleep, for only _he_ had the chance to someday return. Only Escaflowne stood before her, his sword in his hand, his eyes glittering with malice.

"Why do you call my soul forth from my body, Wing Goddess?" Escaflowne questioned, his tone dark. "As we idle here a battle is fought!"

"No!" Azumi argued, "No, it's not! It's all over!"

"You stupid woman! You don't know what you're talking about! You don't understand anything that's happening! You're not from Gaea!"

She understood fully. _This_ was her job—to speak to Escaflowne's soul and stop him before he killed everything. No, she would not let everybody down now! All of this—the fighting, the burning, the dying—had happened to bring Gaea to this moment. Gaea was hers to save or lose. She _had_ to convince him!

"That's why I'm here, isn't it? Because I'm not from Gaea?"

"You can't even make decisions for yourself!" Escaflowne sneered. After what she had already endured, though, she heard the hollow threat for what it was. "How are you going to decide for all of Gaea?"

"You have to listen to me. You have no choice. We're the only ones here. Even if you're looking away, even if you think you're ignoring me, I know you're hearing every word I say." Azumi spread her hands. "You trusted Mr. Niram and Teiring enough when they brought me here, didn't you?"

Escaflowne seemed to consider her words. "I must do the bidding of my Keeper," he answered. "My Keeper has ordered me to kill. I will kill."

"He told you that because you encouraged him to! Brisingamen is dead!" Azumi cried. "Scherazade is destroyed! There isn't anyone left for you to fight!"

"Isn't there?" Escaflowne questioned.

And Anil stood beside Athalan in his homespun tunic. "You don't understand!" Anil told her, his voice ephemeral and echoing around them. "You, you who have lived in peace and comfort your entire life! I don't have any choice! I have to fight! _I must fight!_ If I don't I'll die, and my Tribe will die too! I _won't_ have all that blood on my hands! You, you who have never suffered as I have suffered—you understand _nothing!_"

"I too have suffered!" Azumi argued. She was acutely aware of Escaflowne's eyes on her. Anil certainly had nerve, to think that he was the only one who had ever been hurt! "Maybe I haven't suffered in the same way that you have! All right, so I've never had to fight off a man with a sword who's trying to run me through! So my battles have never been against some—some tangible enemy that I could shoot an arrow at!" Azumi thrust her arms out to show Anil the pink lines that traced up and down them. The fingernails that had torn those lines had not belonged to Brisingamen alone. "My fights have always been against _myself_, against my own heart and mind, and I think that those battles are even harder to fight! I didn't know how to stop hurting myself! I didn't realize that I didn't have to fight! That there were people who would help me fight when I couldn't avoid it! But I'm healing now, and I tell you this—you don't have to fight, either! The war is over, Anil, and you've won! You've _won_, Anil! Rejoice in your victory, and _put down your sword!_"

Anil looked at her with eyes suspicious and even a bit frightened. "Why should I trust you?" he ventured.

"Why shouldn't you? What reason have I ever given you not to?" Azumi demanded. "No matter what they put me through, I've been loyal through _everything!_ I am the Wing Goddess! I chose _you!_ Trust me!" She looked to Escaflowne. "Let him go, Escaflowne! Let him put away his sword and end all of this!"

The stern god stared at Anil for what seemed like an eternity. He turned to Azumi.

He lifted his head, and he smiled.

Returned to Gaea, Azumi stepped back as the Armour flared into white brilliance. It knelt, and opened, and Anil stumbled out. She heard him call, "Escaflowne, return to me!" and the light swirled in on itself and became the crimson stone that floated down to Anil's waiting hands. He looked shaken, and he stared at the pendant for a long time. "I understand now. It is red," he said finally. "It is red, because it is drenched in blood, this time and the last time. It is red for all of the blood spilled each time a Keeper of the Dragon is chosen. And there will never be a Keeper of the Dragon because it is our Tribe's duty to remind the rest of Gaea of the horror of war. _That_ is why it is red." He replaced the Token around his neck. "Thank you, Escaflowne. I won't forget." He looked up. "Thank you, Miss Azumi, for bringing us back." Azumi nodded.

"You did it, Azumi!" Midori caught Azumi in a hug that nearly knocked her over. "You saved the world! I knew you could do it!"

"It's over," Azumi breathed, "it's finally over." She scanned the land around them. All of the fighting had stopped. The Griffin and Black Dragon armies had surrendered, and the Delphi, Erinyes, and Abaharaki had already begun to take them prisoner. It truly had ended.

"Where's Leland?" Azumi squinted, trying to force her vision to focus farther. "I don't see him!"

"Calm down, calm down, I'm sure he's out there somewhere." Midori patted her shoulder. "We can't have a happy ending without him, after all."

"I'm here," came Leland's tired voice. The two girls whipped around to see the two battered, ash-covered figures walking toward them.

"He's all right!" Azumi sighed with relief. "He's all right!" She ducked around Azumi and picked her way to meet him.

Leland and Anshu had stopped, dumbfounded. Fight as he might, the Guild Master could not keep tears from coming to his eyes when he saw the cruelly distorted bodies of the Abaharaki. His blue gaze drifted over Sapir, his friend from childhood; Silas, who had always been there to give him advice even before he had become the Guild Master; Lady Heatherwilde, gentle woman. "Silas," he whispered. "Sapir, Elen. Keeper Niram. Oh, gods, Riyad." Even his little apprentice had died horribly. He looked up, and Azumi stopped a distance from him. "Did Brisingamen kill them all?" he asked. Azumi swallowed hard and nodded.

"I think so."

With Anshu's aid, Leland limped to Brisingamen's fallen body. He studied the dead Dragon. "Even this was not a fitting death for you," he murmured, "though I cannot think of one horrible enough to suit." He withdrew his arm from Anshu's shoulders and stooped, jerking the scissors free from Brisingamen's neck. "I forgive you," he said finally, "but I will not forget," he whispered. Without wiping the Dragon's blood off, he reached back, cut off his long, golden braid, and dropped it in the gray ash. He sank gingerly to his knees. He did not have the strength to stand anymore. How could one person have been this cruel? How? _How?_

Azumi wrapped her arms around Leland's neck and hugged him, careful of his injured leg. "Everything will be all right now, won't it, Leland?" she asked him. "Tell me that everything will be all right! It has to be! I don't want anyone to die anymore! Why can't it be over now? Leland, tell me that everything will be all right now!" she begged. "Even if it's not true…just say that it is," she cried. "Because maybe if you see it, and I see it, together, maybe that makes it true…"

"If you see it, and I see it," Leland murmured. "Together." How could anything ever be right again? "Yes, Azumi." Leland eased himself into a more comfortable sitting position and held her close, as much trying to comfort himself as her. His short hair fell uneven and tangled in his face. "Everything will be all right now. Really, it will be."

Anshu smiled. "And that is the way that it should be," he said softly to himself.

"Is it?" Anil asked, stepping up next to him. "My brother is defeated and my Clan is safe, but I can't look around me now and feel anything but guilt. I can't help but wonder if this was all worth it. Now three Armours are gone and yours is dead."

"Was it worth it? If you're going to decide _that_, then first you have to define worth! And there are some things," he added softly, "that you just can't put a value to." Anshu half-shrugged. "For your Clan, yes. For me, for my Clan, as far as I can see, no. For the rest of Gaea, who can say? So overall, who can say? Brisingamen would have been trouble sooner or later, and the humans always need a good kick in the ass every other generation or so to keep them in line." He looked to Brisingamen on the ground. "He should never have been allowed into power, that one. Now you're the only Keeper left on Gaea." Anshu glanced at Anil. "You have sacrificed much, more than the rest of us, and you have earned the reward for your sacrifice. But if your soul still tells you that you need to compensate for this, take Escaflowne and fly to the mountains and leave it. Alseides will remain in Hale Lake, and we can be sure that there will never be another Armour war." Anil nodded slowly.

"I will think on your words."

Anshu looked to Midori. "I've never seen you before. Did you come from the stars with Azumi Kuronari?"

Midori folded her arms. "Well, I damn sure didn't come from Middle-earth!"

Anshu frowned. "Middle-earth?"

"Never mind." Midori bowed to him, then stuck out her hand. "Nishino Midori."

"Midori!" Anshu's face brightened. "Ah, Azumi Kuronari spoke highly of you. It's a cute name." Anshu took her hand and lifted it to his lips. "Anshu Falconpointe, former Keeper of the Demon," he told her with an exaggerated bow.

"Damn, Azumi was right! You are hot!" Midori exclaimed, and then she—spontaneous, unpredictable Midori—blushed.

Anshu grinned. "I assume that is a complement and not a pathetic attempt at a pun?" he asked.

"Yeah." Midori giggled. "I get it. You Demons have the god of the sun, so of course you'd be hot—yeah. That's not very original."

"And, I also assume that you are the one who killed Brisingamen?"

"Well, he was trying to hurt Azumi." Suddenly shy, Midori pulled her hand away and looked for something to change the subject to. "Why aren't you crying too?" she blurted out, "I mean, everyone else is. Didn't you lose any friends or something? There isn't a dry eye here."

"Friends? Not particularly, no," he answered. "Good acquaintances, yes, perhaps. For the most part, everyone keeps their distance from us Demons, you see." Serious now, Anshu seated himself on a fallen section of the wall and motioned for Midori to join him. "Did Azumi Kuronari tell you that Leland Blackhawk and I began all this hating each other?" Midori nodded. "But matters have changed now, and I have helped him carry his pain, and now in return he cries my tears for me."


	35. Chapter 35: Forever The End

**Keeper of the Dragon  
Chapter 35 – Forever The End**

In the light of the bright summer Anshu strode through the rich, green grass of the White Dragon Clan. "By the gods!" he muttered to himself, "can't women ever be on time for anything? Or were men created for the sole purpose of reminding them to hurry the hell up?"

He stopped and rapped on the doorway of a simple, wooden building. "What?" Azumi's voice called.

"Are you dressed?" Anshu asked. "May I come in?"

"Yes to both!"

Anshu pushed aside the curtain door and let it fall shut behind him. "What's taking you so long, Azumi Kuronari? Everyone is waiting for you."

"Ah, I'm sorry! I don't know what to do!" Azumi held out her hand to Anshu; a gold pendant glittered in her palm, the delicate shape of wings reflecting yellow streaks on her fingers. "The chain broke. I don't know what happened, it just snapped. I've been trying to figure out if I can fix it."

Anshu laughed. "Is that all? You worry far too much." He paused a moment, then took the golden chain from around his own neck, threaded it through the pendant, and fastened it on Azumi. "There. Are there any other minor disasters I need to avert?"

"No. Thank you. I'll give it back later," she promised.

Anshu smiled, a true, kind smile. "Keep it. We'll call it a gift. Mother would like that."

"Thank you." Azumi spread her arms to her sides. "Do I look all right?"

Anshu reached out to touch one of the tiny, five-petaled flowers twisted through her hair. This was the first time she had worn white in a month. "You are beautiful, Azumi Kuronari. Are you ready to go now?"

"Yes." Azumi nodded again. "I'm ready."

Anshu preceded her outside into the sunlight, and Azumi made slower time than him to the Shrine of the Dragon, the beautiful building made during the height of the White Dragon Clan, that did not match its surroundings. Anshu looked back over his shoulder. Azumi had lifted the hem of her white dress out of the grass in an attempt to avoid tripping over it.

"Should I carry you, Azumi Kuronari?" he called back.

"No!" Azumi waved him on. "Go on ahead! I'll be there in a minute!" Anshu shrugged and stepped into the Shrine of the Dragon.

The circle of gathered Abaharaki opened to allow Anshu passage into the center, where waited Anil, Leland, and Midori. "She's on her way," Anshu told them.

"Was anything wrong?" Leland asked, worried. "What's keeping her?"

"Clumsiness," Anshu answered. "I've taken care of it."

"Clumsiness? That's my Azumi!" Midori laughed. Anshu lifted an eyebrow.

"Midori, you look—"he searched for the right word " —shorter than when I left." Midori lifted the skirt of her green dress to display her bare feet. She wiggled her toes and smirked. "Midori!" Anshu groaned.

"Who's going to know?" Midori argued. "You can't see my feet! And the shoes hurt!"

"She does have a point. I can't see her feet." Leland reached to grasp his braid and remembered that it was not there. He had let it grow long again, and it had not yet reached the length that he could braid it; today it fell loose and shining about his shoulders. To occupy his hands he anxiously twisted the end of the white sash that gathered his flowing, white robes at the waist.

"I do believe you have more nerves than Azumi Kuronari," Anshu commented. Leland laughed weakly. Anshu slapped Leland's hand. "Stop that! You'll wrinkle it!"

"Yes, Mother." Leland obeyed, dropping the end of the sash and smoothing his clothes nervously. Anshu smacked him in the back of the head.

"For good luck," he argued when Leland shot a glare over.

The Abaharaki parted again, allowing Azumi into the circle. "Sorry," she whispered. "I'm ready now."

"Let's get this show on the road!" Midori took Azumi by the shoulders and positioned her in front of Anil—an Anil with the Token of the Dragon no longer around his neck, for he had taken Anshu's advice. Leland and Anshu already stood ready, Anshu with his hand on Leland's shoulder.

Anil cleared his throat and spoke. "As the King of the White Dragon Clan, I will stand witness to the oaths that will be made here today." He no longer thought of himself as the Keeper of the Dragon, only the King of the White Dragon Clan. There were no Keepers anymore, nor would there ever be again.

Anil looked to Anshu first. "Tell me, who are you? Why do you hold this man back?"

"I am Anshu Falconpointe, King of the Red Demon Clan," Anshu answered. "I stand here in the place of Arvid Blackhawk, the father of Leland Blackhawk, who could not be present today." That had been the final concession of peace for both of them—Leland for extending the offer, and Anshu for accepting it.

Anshu removed his hand from Leland's shoulder. "And I do not hold this man back. His life is his own. I give him my blessing and my love." He placed his hands on Leland's shoulders and kissed his forehead.

Anshu turned to stand before Azumi. "And as the father of Leland Blackhawk, I give you my son and I accept you as my daughter. I welcome you, Azumi Kuronari, into my home and into my heart." Placing his hands on her shoulders, he kissed her forehead.

Now Anil turned to Midori. "Tell me, who are you? Why do you hold this woman back?"

"I am Nishino Midori," Midori answered. "I stand here in the place of Kuronari Sumiko, the mother of Azumi Kuronari, who could not be present today." She removed her hand from Azumi's shoulder. "And I do not hold this woman back. Her life is her own. I give her my blessing and my love." She placed his hands on Azumi's shoulders and kissed her forehead. "Oops." She quickly wiped the smear of green lipstick from Azumi's face with the back of her hand.

Midori turned to stand before Leland. "And as the mother of Kuronari Azumi, I give you my daughter and I accept you as my son. I welcome you, Leland Blackhawk, into my home and into my heart." She placed her hands on Leland's shoulders and looked up at him. "You're too tall!" she whispered. Leland laughed and leaned down so that the short girl could rise up on her toes and kiss his forehead. Anshu led Midori to the edge of the circle with a hand at the small of her back, and all attention focused on Leland and Azumi.

Leland clasped Azumi's hands in his and took a deep breath. Gods, he felt like his fluttering heart might leap out of his mouth! "Riyad was right when he told us that you brought change with you," he began slowly. "The longer you stayed on Gaea, the more you made me change. It is thanks to you, Azumi, that I have chased away the shadows in my heart. It was only after I sent you home that I realized I wanted you to stay. Forever. You asked me if I would have you, broken and scarred. I want to make you whole again. I want to heal those scars. This pledge I make for all to hear. My heart and my life I give to you, Azumi Kuronari, until my death and beyond."

There. It was done. Leland searched Azumi's face anxiously before she spoke. He saw no trace of nervousness or fear. He did not know that it was because the obscuring light in his eyes had vanished, and Azumi could see that the new tongue of flame had grown into a mature, shining fire. She saw nothing but love in his eyes. The hate, the anger, the sorrow—the fire had burned all of it away.

"You saved my life, Leland. In so many ways you saved me. You saved me from freezing, you saved me from mermaids. You saved me from myself." Azumi's tears demanded to take part in the ceremony, and she did not try to stop them. "When I stopped walking and gave up you picked me up and carried me, and you never complained once. If it weren't for you, I don't know if I would be standing here today." She laughed. "Well, of course I wouldn't be standing _here_, but I don't know if I'd even be alive, if not for you." Leland's eyes sparkled with amusement.

_Don't cry!_ Midori signed behind Leland. Azumi shook her head. Midori held up two fingers behind Anshu's head in imitation of a rabbit's ears, forcing Azumi to laugh. Anshu blinked and looked down at Midori, who quickly dropped her hand and gave him an innocent smile.

"This pledge I make for all to hear. My heart and my life I give to you, Leland Blackhawk, until my death and beyond."

Anil produced a white cord, knotted twice, and tied their hands together. "I bind you to the oaths that you make here today, and I stand to pledge that they were taken in all love and purity, with all intent of being fulfilled." He untied them. "Let none dispute that Leland Blackhawk and Azumi Kuronari are husband and wife."

A cheer rose up through the Abaharaki, who gleefully threw flowers, the stems knotted twice, at the couple. Midori sniffed and swiped a hand across her eyes. "My baby's all grown up, Anshu!" she wailed.

"And why is _that_ a reason to cry?" Anshu asked. Midori responded by drying her eyes on his sleeve. Anshu shrugged and settled an arm around her shoulders. "Humans are so strange sometimes."

In the center of the circle Leland, smiling more broadly than Azumi had ever seen him, took her chin in his hand, lifted her face, and kissed her.


	36. Chapter 36: Epilogue

**Keeper of the Dragon  
Epilogue**

The Guild Master of the Mahavada, golden braid swinging behind him, pushed open the heavy, wooden door of the guild-home and leaned out into the biting, winter wind. His clear, blue eyes fell on an old man standing shin-deep in the snow, gazing up at the sunset.

"Come here and stand with me," the old man said, without turning around. "The sky is so beautiful."

The Guild Master smiled. "Please come inside, Grandfather. It's cold, and it'll be dark soon."

The old man chuckled. "Oh, you're probably right." He turned to face the Guild Master.

Time had been kind to Leland Blackhawk. Even now his face was mostly unlined, save the spider webs of wrinkles around his eyes from years of smiling. His long hair still hung thick—gathered at his neck with a string, for he was no longer the Guild Master—silver instead of gold. He made his way back to the door, stepping in his footprints. Ivo took his coat and hung it by the door.

The guild-home had hardly changed in all these years. Long ago Leland's son had ascended to master of the guild; now with Ivo in charge the position had stayed in the family for an astonishing three generations. The faces that looked up at Leland as he entered had altered over time, but the welcoming in their eyes was the same that he had seen in the Mahavada since he was small.

Masimony, Anshu and Midori's own granddaughter, sat cross-legged on the floor by the fire, polishing a sword as sharp as flame. A thin, delicate, gold chain glittered around her neck.

Anshu had managed to hold the Tribe of the Phoenixes of the Sun together until his death—his murder, actually—and afterward when the Phoenixes scattered, Masimony had fled to join the Mahavada and the safety of the man she had known since the day she was born. Her partial human heritage displayed itself only in the night-black hair hanging in her face that no Phoenix of her light coloring could have.

There, the man with the blue eyes and the long, black hair, the one talking with his wide-eyed apprentice—that was Arden, Azumi and Leland's second son. They had had four children altogether, the daughter their last. The first had come into the world an unusually short time after their marriage. They had suspected, and as soon as the boy opened his golden eyes, they knew him to be Brisingamen's. They had tried as hard as they could, with much success, to love Breca anyway. After all, he had not asked to be born. Breca had been an odd child, though, and several years after his half-sister was born he had gone mad and drowned himself in the Pool of the Nereids. That year Leland had resigned as the Guild Master, heartbroken, and he and Azumi had no more children afterwards. That resignation had gotten Arden chosen as the next Guild Master, and only recently had Arden resigned himself to spend more time with his family and his apprentice. Too, Anil's twins visited on occasion, but often they were too busy with the affairs of their own Tribes to leave.

Leland smiled. Yes, he had been happy here for many years. He had only one thing that he deserved to complain about now.

"Ivo, I don't know how much longer my knees can take these stairs," he laughed, leaning on the banister and his grandson's arm for support as he made his way up the stairs.

"Grandfather, you know there are open rooms downstairs. You and Grandmother could move anytime, we'd all help you with your things," Ivo told him. "Why don't you?"

"Pride, Ivo. How could I let a few stairs get the better of me?" Leland shook his head cheerfully. "I just may take that offer up soon, though."

Azumi had already gone to sleep when he reached the room. The lamp had burned down low, but still lit the room warmly. Leland watched her as he changed out of his snow-wet clothes. Amazing, he thought, that she could still be so beautiful after so much time had passed. Most of the scars that traced over her skin had faded so that they were barely noticeable now.

Leland drew the colorful quilt up over Azumi's shoulders, smoothed back her white hair, and kissed her cheek before resting his head on the pillow next to hers. "Good night, Azumi," he whispered.

"Good night? I'm still awake." Azumi opened her eyes. "Watching the sunset again?" she teased sleepily, poking him in the shoulder.

"I want to enjoy them while I still can," Leland told her, eyes twinkling merrily. "I'm not sure how many I'll have left."

Azumi laughed and moved to rest her head on his shoulder. "You'll have many more sunsets, love. Many more sunsets."

Leland held her, an arm around her shoulders, as they had done in their younger days.

Both drifted to sleep, peaceful, warm.

Neither woke the next morning.


End file.
